A CHINA zoo has been slammed for painting donkeys in black and white to look like zebras to attract more visitors.

The rubbish dye job was quickly spotted before the Zibo City amusement park in Shandong province admitted the animals were donkeys instead.

Pictures of the painted donkeys have since gone viral on Chinese social media where people have slammed the zoo for mistreating animals and misleading visitors.

One user called the act “misleading and unethical”.

Another said that it’s “unfair to the animals and the visitors”.

But amusement park’s staff defended the act as a marketing strategy to increase the number of daily visitors.

They claimed that the dye used was non-toxic and did not harm the animals.

However, animal rights activists have expressed concerns over the welfare of the painted animals, arguing that such practices can cause stress and health issues.

This incident has sparked a broader debate about the ethics of altering animals’ appearances for entertainment purposes.

Many are calling for stricter regulations to prevent such practices in the future.

This is not the first case where Chinese zoo staff have been caught painting poor animals to change their appearance.

Last year, the Taizhou Zoo in the country was slammed for painting dogs to look like pandas in a bid to draw in crowds.

Even the amusement park’s ticket included a snap of the “new species” as the zoo charged £2.25 to see them during China’s Labour Day holiday.

Clips taken by visitors appeared to show the pups with black ears, limbs, and dark circles around their eyes, but their canine features were still very much apparent.

Taizhou Zoo later admitted that the “fake pandas” were in fact dyed chow chow pups who debuted their new look for the national holiday.

A staff member said the zoo got the idea of dyeing the dogs into pandas online.

Some zoo visitors even demanded their money back after noticing the “pandas” barking and panting.

Meanwhile, footage from China showed a dog painted as a tiger cub in another crooked Chinese zoo scam to lure in tourists.

The animal was seen covered in black stripes and splodges over a carrot-orange background.

In September last year, another Chinese zoo was caught pulling the very same stunt.