A member of the European Parliament has slammed a state-owned Thai zoo that used blackface to celebrate the arrival of new African animals.

Former TV presenter turned politician Monica Semedo said it was an 'atrocity' that two staff had dressed as African tribeswomen in a ceremony for a new giraffe and zebra at the Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand.

The two workers were part of an official event welcoming the animals at the government-run facility on Friday, October 6. It is the country's most popular holiday city outside of the capital Bangkok, with 10.8 million visitors annually, including many people of colour.

However, the two workers wore black makeup, thick red lipstick, and skull caps for the 'grotesque' caricature of Africans. They also had coloured robes, beads around their necks, hoop earrings, fake gold bracelets and held wooden staffs.

Astonishingly, they began dancing while making whooping noises to emulate the geographic stereotypes they believed to be a representation of African tribes in the plains where the new animals originated from.

Shockingly, none of those present raised any concerns about the event, which zoo bosses had invited local reporters to, in order to publicise.

Monica, an MEP for Luxembourg who sits on several committees, was furious about the 'dehumanising' show that 'fosters an environment of racial discrimination'.

She said: 'This issue is really unacceptable. Blackface painting is not only inappropriate and wrong but also offensive towards the black community, who has a rooted history of racism and discrimination and I cannot believe this happened in front of everyone, especially children who can be easily impressionable and find this correct or even worse, funny.

'As a black person myself, fighting against racism and discrimination as an individual and as a Member of the European Parliament, I cannot tolerate disrespectful actions like this and I do my best to fight against it and to educate and raise awareness as much as possible.

'Blackface dehumanizes and objectifies black individuals, reducing them to harmful stereotypes and exaggerations. It reinforces negative biases and fosters an environment of racial discrimination which should not be allowed anytime, anywhere in the World.

'It is the responsibility of schools, parents, media, society, to be culturally sensitive and respectful, and avoid engaging in practices that perpetuate harmful stereotypes and racial discrimination. Education in diversity is key to make sure nobody gets and, above all, respect for anyone regarding his or her race or ethnic origin.'

Chiang Mai Zoo director Wuttichai Muangman said the pair were paid 500 Baht (11.16 GBP) each to wear the costumes for the ceremony, in which a six-year-old giraffe named Wang and a three-year-old zebra called Ton Nhao had become the zoo's latest additions to the Africa Animals exhibition zone.

The boss said that the animals had arrived in order to justify a price hike that came into effect this month. After 10 days of quarantine with close care from the vet team, both of them were let into the exhibition zone to adapt to the new environment and their animal friends.

Before the arrival of Wang and Ton Nhao, the African Animal zone at Chiang Mai Zoo was home to five animals, which included just one giraffe, two zebras, 10 oryx, one eland, and one waterbuck.

The decision to transfer the giraffe and zebra to Chiang Mai Zoo from a facility in Khon Kaen province was made because both species are social animals and prefer to stay in groups, but the zoo previously had only one of each.

Blacking up, also known as blackface, is a type of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-black performers to represent a caricature of a black person. It is generally considered to be offensive, harmful, and racist.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been criticised for wearing blackface makeup to parties when he was younger.

While British actors David Walliams and Matt Lucas have apologised for their use of blackface for their portrayals of 'characters of other races' in their BBC sketch show Little Britain.