"Hey look mom, it's a panda!" This probably worked for awhile until the 'panda' barked.
The Orfei Circus in Brescia, Italy is now facing criminal charges for deceiving audiences. Their crime? Painting the faces of white Chow Chow dog's black and passing them off as cuddly pandas!
According to the Huffington Post, police confiscated the dogs on December 19. They say the staff hoped people would believe the black and white pups were actually panda bears. Customers say they were told that the two dogs, a male and female, were actually half-dog, half-panda hybrids.
It was wildlife activists of the Animal Protection Party who visited the circus to check for possible animal abuse and made the odd discovery.
"As soon as our volunteers got closer they realized the animals had nothing to do with the East Asian bears but were chow chow dogs painted as pandas," APP chairman Fabrizio Catell said, according to Elite Daily. "We believe it's unacceptable to ridicule animals for entertainment and profit."
The circus owners now are facing charges of animal abuse. They also can be charged with defrauding customers who paid to pose for pictures with the pretend pandas.
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