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Dogs painted to look like pandas in Italian circus seized by police | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The dogs looked like dogs. | The dogs looked like dogs. |
Then, after a lick of paint and a splash of dye, they looked like pandas. So much so that visitors to a travelling circus near the Italian town of Brescia had believed the Chow Chow dogs were a rare example of the Chinese bear. The white dogs, originally shipped from Hungary, were seized from the circus by authorities in Italy after a tip-off. News website The Local reported that the dogs had been put on display, with children posing next to them as their parents paid a fee for the privilege. | Then, after a lick of paint and a splash of dye, they looked like pandas. So much so that visitors to a travelling circus near the Italian town of Brescia had believed the Chow Chow dogs were a rare example of the Chinese bear. The white dogs, originally shipped from Hungary, were seized from the circus by authorities in Italy after a tip-off. News website The Local reported that the dogs had been put on display, with children posing next to them as their parents paid a fee for the privilege. |
The animals were said to be in good health, albeit with watery eyes, which could have been aggravated, police said, by “continuous exposure to camera flashes”. | The animals were said to be in good health, albeit with watery eyes, which could have been aggravated, police said, by “continuous exposure to camera flashes”. |
The circus has denied allegations of cruelty and trickery. Its secretary, Riccardo Gravina, said it should have been “obvious they are dogs”. He added: “No animal was mistreated. They are like children to us.” The animals have since been returned, but the circus is no longer permitted to use them in their shows. | The circus has denied allegations of cruelty and trickery. Its secretary, Riccardo Gravina, said it should have been “obvious they are dogs”. He added: “No animal was mistreated. They are like children to us.” The animals have since been returned, but the circus is no longer permitted to use them in their shows. |
A pair of Chow Chow dogs at a pet market in Beijing (Getty) Hsin Ch’en, a pet shop owner in the southwest province of Sichuan claims he started the craze for these decorated dogs in China which sell for considerably more than the average Chow Chow. | |
“Ten years ago the natural instinct of a Chinese person was to eat a dog. Now we are like westerners and want one as a companion.” | “Ten years ago the natural instinct of a Chinese person was to eat a dog. Now we are like westerners and want one as a companion.” |
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