Many people have a soft spot for animals.

They're innocent creatures who have unjustly suffered at the hands of humans for centuries. For that reason, we work hard to stand up for them whenever we can.

For example, when an American hunter posted photos online after shooting down a rare black black giraffe in South Africa, people around the world were furious.

Critics were not only angry that she killed an animal whose diet consists only of plants, but also that those giraffes are endangered.

Trophy hunting is still an ongoing debate around the world, but it's not only wild animals that are victims of assault.

There are thousands of animals around the world that are in captivity.

This week, one story in particular has gone viral, and it's making a lot of people unhappy.

Fake or Real?

A zoo in Cairo, Egypt is in hot water after a student posted a photo accusing them of passing off donkeys as zebras by painting them black and white.

People are not only upset that the recently-opened animal sanctuary at Cairo's International Garden municipal park is trying to fool visitors, but also for abusing the animal.

Mahmoud Sarhan, 18, posted the image of Facebook, which went viral not too long after.

"The stupidity has reached in the country that they brought a local donkey and painted it to look like a zebra," the caption read in Arabic.

The zoo's director, Mohammed Sultan, says "the zebra is real," but visitors beg to differ.

Many people argue that the animal's unusually large ears and blotches of black on its snout and body is a clear give away that it's a donkey.

Sahran added that the noise the animal made was also unusual.

This is what a zebra in the wild looks like:

And here's a donkey:

The director of the Gardens Project was quick to deny these accusations, and told Egypt's Youm 7 news channel that their animals are well taken care of.

However, the animal activist group PETA didn't agree:

"No reputable animal care facility would subject a skittish animal like a donkey to the stress of being restrained and sprayed with chemicals like paint, which could cause a painful allergic reaction, and PETA hopes that Cairo authorities are fully investigating this matter," PETA Foundation Vice President Delcianna Winders told CNN in a statement.

Online Reactions

Many people sided with PETA, expressing their discontent on social media:

Others people simply had a good laugh:

Do you see a donkey or a zebra?

[H/T: CNN / Global News]