A Chinese zoo sparked outrage by painting stripes on donkeys to make them look like zebras.

The Zibo City amusement park in Shandong province reportedly dyed the farm animals with black-and-white stripes 'to attract more visitors'.

Animal rights activists have slammed the bizarre marketing strategy, saying it might cause stress and health problems for the equines.

Zoo staff defended the act, claiming the dye was non-toxic and did not harm the animals. They also said that the donkeys were safer, as zebras are the world's most dangerous zoo animal, responsible for more injuries to humans than any other beast.

Just last week, a different Chinese zoo was criticized for painting Chow Chow dogs to resemble tigers.

Staff at the Qinhu Bay Forest Animal Kingdom in Jiangsu province later admitted to local media they had dyed the animals 'as part of a marketing gimmick'.