Inserts:

00:03 Report / Elena Gyldenkerne 
00:40 FRANK GORITZ / FOUR PAWS VETERINARIAN 
01:13 Julia Bohner / FOUR PAWS VETERINARIAN 
01:55 LUCIANA D’ABRAMO / FOUR PAWS CHIEF PROGRAMME OFFICER

Script:

((DRONE PIX OF TIGER BEING CARRIED AWAY))

After years of neglect, these animals are finally receiving care. 

It is considered one of the biggest rescue missions of its kind worldwide.

((ANIMALS RECEIVING TREATMENT))

Dozens of lions and tigers and two brown bears have managed to survive for five years in miserable conditions 

at an abandoned zoo on the outskirts of Argentina's capital -- Buenos Aires.

Now vets are treating them for a range of conditions --

with some quick check ups turning into emergency operations.

((+++ SOT +++ (English) HEAD VETERINARIAN OF THE LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE FOR ZOO AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH, FRANK GORITZ, SAYING:))
    "So we found various injuries on the skin, on the tail, and on the ears. So we have some broken canines, which are very common in big cats when they do this bar biting. So that's always an infection source, you know, if they have an open root canal. Everybody knows how painful it is if you have tooth pain." 

((+++ SOT +++ (English) Dr. Julia Bohner, Wildlife Veterinarian from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research:))
   "Here you can also see it is broken off and the root canal is open, so this is a canal where bacteria can go inside the jaw. // And here on this side is also heavily inflamed with a lot of pus, so this is really an acute infection, which is for sure really painful."

((PIX OF VISITORS: Source: Trip Advisor + Mochileiros.com ))

The Lujan Zoo was famous for letting visitors get up close and personal with animals --

even allowing them to touch them and pose for photos.

((DRONE))

It closed in 20-20 due to safety concerns. 

((REMAINING ANIMALS))

However, the condition of the captive animals there only worsened.

Many not only developed diseases --

they also suffered from organ failure from the stress of living in cramped conditions.

Many of the animals didn’t survive.

(( +++ SOT +++(English) CHIEF PROGRAMME OFFICER AT FOUR PAWS, LUCIANA D’ABRAMO, SAYING:))
   "We visited this space in 2023, and we had confirmation that there were over 110 big cats at that time. So we are down by about half in a couple of years. Most of them, what we hear from both the people from the former zoo and also from the authorities, died either from diseases, from injuries, or also from fighting with one another, which is quite tragic."

((ANIMALS))

For the survivors, rescuers will now arrange for transfer to more spacious, natural homes around the world -- 

offering them a second chance at a better life.