Top News In Spain As Rescued Tigers Leave For New Home In Spanish Territory After Gruelling Journey Proved Almost Fatal

FIVE tigers who were saved from death on the Polish-Belarus border travel will now travel to their new home in Spain.

Five of the nine tigers rescued a month ago on the Polish-Belarusian border, where they were found crammed into an Italian truck, have left Poland for the wild animal sanctuary of Villena, in the province of Alicante.

The felines, whose initial destination was a zoo in the Russian republic of Dagestan, were rescued at the end of October by two Polish zoos after being found in deplorable conditions in a lorry that had been detained at the Polish-Belarusian border because it lacked the necessary documentation for transport.

Euro Weekly News sadly informs that during the days the tigers were kept at the border with Belarus, one of the tigers died due to hunger, lack of hygiene, crammed into a cage that was too small.

The survivors were taken to the Polish zoos in Poznan and Czluchów.

From the zoo in Poznan the tigers now make their way to Spain. Their destination is the Primadomus Wildlife Refuge in the south-eastern Spanish town of Villena.

The zoo’s directors have guaranteed that stops will be made to ensure the welfare of the animals. The journey is estimated to take 24 to 30 hours.

Malgorzata Chodyla, spokeswoman for the zoo in Poznan, western Poland informed that there was an initial scare commencing the journey to Spain as two of the tigers did not want to sleep, despite the sedatives they were given.

The Polish Ministry of Environment has provided the necessary documentation for the transfer, which is being done in a heated truck and cages with enough space for the felines to change position.

The two Italian lorry drivers transporting the tigers have been accused by the Polish prosecutor’s office of animal abuse.