What appears to be a large lion has been sketched on the side of the Mansfield Apartments building at the corner of Bond and Liverpool Sts.
The mural is due to be completed next week.
Earlier this year, the Dunedin City Council granted resource consent for a new mural on the side of the building.
There were plans for a large British bulldog to fill the space after the original mural — Love is in the Air, by Polish street artist Natalia Rak — was painted over last year after the building’s owners needed to repair the wall. However, that plan appears to have been scrapped after criticism from animal welfare organisations, which said they had concerns the artwork could "drive behaviour" that was not ideal.
There was a lot of misunderstanding about the health impacts on animals which were "welfare compromised", Dr Beattie said.
"I would much rather see a healthy, non-welfare compromised breed there than a bulldog."
Yesterday, Dr Beattie said it was "great to see" that following feedback about bulldogs the decision to use another image was made.
"I think it's a responsible thing to do and it's certainly a good move for the average bulldog in New Zealand."
However, in an email he said the work would hopefully put a smile on people’s faces.
The lion was being painted by SwiftMantis, of Palmerston North, who is known for his large-scale, hyper-realistic wildlife murals.
The artist was also commissioned to paint the British bulldog mural.
Love is in the Air was painted in May 2015 and depicted a girl giving a boy holding a lollipop a kiss as they sat together on a red bench.
