No meat, no bullfights, no zonkeys

Animal-rights activists took to the streets of downtown Tijuana again on Saturday, January 31, in their most recent protest against what they say is the maltreatment of the city's iconic zonkeys — donkeys painted to look like zebras.

The zonkeys have long been a fixture along Avenida Revolución, where tourists sat atop the animals for a photo souvenir of their visit to Tijuana.

The Baja California chapter of the international organization Animal Equality has been urging city leaders for years to replace the live animals with fiberglass replicas, but municipal functionaries have balked at the idea, asserting that the live zonkeys are part of Tijuana's cultural heritage.

About a dozen protestors showed up on Avenida Revolución for the January 31 protest, according to news accounts. They circulated petitions among passersby calling for outlawing not only the use of live donkeys painted as zebras but bullfighting as well.

Animal Equality activists have also campaigned in Tijuana for an end to abuse of circus animals. The group also promotes a vegan diet as a way of life.