Polish zoo to take in tigers stranded on 'nightmare' trip
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Warsaw (AFP) –
A Polish zoo said Wednesday it would take in nine tigers left stranded at the border with Belarus on a gruelling journey from Italy to Russia in which one of the animals has died.
The ambush of tigers, which originally numbered 10 when they set off on October 22, was left in "nightmare" conditions when their truck was barred from entering Belarus on October 26.
"The tigers are extremely exhausted... The battle begins to keep them alive... We don't know how many will make it," the zoo in the western city of Poznan said on its Facebook page.
"Our employees arrived at the scene to discover a real nightmare. The tigers have excrement stuck to their fur and are tired and hungry. Our veterinarian says their condition is appalling," the zoo said.
Local media reported that the tigers were meant to be a gift from a breeding facility to a zoo in Russia's Dagestan Republic.
The tigers' journey began near Rome.
They got stuck at the Polish border post in the eastern village of Koroszczyn when Belarussian customs officials found the veterinary documents presented by the drivers to be insufficient.
The Belarussian visa of one of the drivers was also expired.
The Poznan zoo said it planned to quarantine the tigers in an area specially arranged for them. Once they recover, a few of the animals will be sent to Spain, it added.
Local prosecutors have begun an investigation into whether the animal protection law was violated.
© 2019 AFP