Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Adiós, zonkeys?

Animal activists want Tijuana's "zebras" replaced with statues

(image from El Mexicano)
(image from El Mexicano)

Tijuana's famed zonkeys — donkeys painted to look like zebras — would be permanently retired and replaced by fiberglass replicas if an international animal-rights organization gets its way.

In recent years, the zonkeys have fallen on hard times as tourism along Avenida Revolución has dwindled dramatically, but a group called Animal Equality now wants to give them a final push into extinction, according to the Baja California daily El Mexicano.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The zonkeys, according to a flyer being distributed by Animal Equality, are being used "to take a photograph marked by the suffering and exploitation of a sentient being."

Alfonso Verdugo, a spokesman for Animal Equality, told the newspaper there was no reason to continue exploiting the animals as props for photos. Instead, he said, the animals should be replaced by fiberglass replicas made and painted by local artisans that photographers can use for the same purpose.

The proposal, said Verdugo, would permit tourists to continue capturing poses that have become emblematic of Tijuana, continue to provide an income to photographers who currently make their living with the zonkeys, and create new job opportunities for artists.

So far, Verdugo told the newspaper, Animal Equality has collected just under 2000 signatures on petitions in support of the idea. He said he would present the petitions and offer his proposal to city leaders this month.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

My brother gave up the Reader crossword

Encinitas cliff collapse victims not so virtuous
(image from El Mexicano)
(image from El Mexicano)

Tijuana's famed zonkeys — donkeys painted to look like zebras — would be permanently retired and replaced by fiberglass replicas if an international animal-rights organization gets its way.

In recent years, the zonkeys have fallen on hard times as tourism along Avenida Revolución has dwindled dramatically, but a group called Animal Equality now wants to give them a final push into extinction, according to the Baja California daily El Mexicano.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The zonkeys, according to a flyer being distributed by Animal Equality, are being used "to take a photograph marked by the suffering and exploitation of a sentient being."

Alfonso Verdugo, a spokesman for Animal Equality, told the newspaper there was no reason to continue exploiting the animals as props for photos. Instead, he said, the animals should be replaced by fiberglass replicas made and painted by local artisans that photographers can use for the same purpose.

The proposal, said Verdugo, would permit tourists to continue capturing poses that have become emblematic of Tijuana, continue to provide an income to photographers who currently make their living with the zonkeys, and create new job opportunities for artists.

So far, Verdugo told the newspaper, Animal Equality has collected just under 2000 signatures on petitions in support of the idea. He said he would present the petitions and offer his proposal to city leaders this month.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Ray Kroc and Hunter S. Thompson had nothing on Trump

Reader’s Walter Mencken carries the story from 2016 forward
Next Article

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

The shack is a landmark declaring, “The best break in the area is out there.”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader