British zoo bans ‘confusing’ animal print clothing

London: A British zoo said Wednesday it has banned visitors from wearing leopard or zebra print clothes because they are confusing the animals.

“We have announced an animal-print ban. This follows confusion amongst our ‘Zufari: Ride Into Africa!’ animals,” Chessington World of Adventures said in a statement.

The park-wide prohibition was introduced after the launch of a new ride, Zufari, in which visitors come face to face with giraffes, rhinos and other animals as they drive around in off-road trucks.

When the animals encountered a visitor wearing a print similar to their own they acted a little “overfriendly”, said a spokesman for the zoo located southwest of London.

“If they were wearing a pattern similar to a predator, they would get scared and run away,” he told AFP.

The zoo said that anyone wearing animal prints would be able to borrow clothing to cover up while on the ride.