Not so much an open-and-shut case; more of a black-and-white one. The owner of an Italian travelling circus has been charged with the use of false documents after it was discovered that two pandas in his show were, in fact, chow chow puppies that had been dyed.

A spokeswoman for the forestry corps, which in Italy deals with many of the offences involving animals, said audience members were encouraged to pay to have their photograph taken with the fake pandas. “It happened regularly before the start of the show,” she said.

The circus was visiting Brescia near Milan when the ruse was uncovered. Forest rangers, including members of the corps’ investigative unit, raided the circus accompanied by vets.

The dogs were found to be in good health, but their eyes were watering probably because of the “continuous flash to which they were exposed,” the spokeswoman said. It was decided to leave the dogs with their owners, but on condition that they were no longer used for impersonation.

The forestry corps said the dogs had been imported from Hungary and had false pet passports that showed them to be six months old, when in fact they were reckoned to be younger. Investigations were continuing to decide whether further charges should be brought of fraud and animal cruelty.