Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

Zoo Shut Down & Animals Were LEFT BEHIND, Until Now

Five years after Argentine authorities shut down the notorious Lujan Zoo over safety concerns, 62 big cats and two brown bears that were left stranded in substandard conditions are finally being rescued in one of the most complex animal operations ever undertaken in Argentina. The zoo was famous for letting visitors handle and pose for pictures with tigers and lions, but when it closed in 2020, the captive animals were sustained by little more than a few loyal zookeepers who lost their jobs but took it upon themselves to continue feeding and caring for the abandoned cats. When animal rights charity Four Paws first visited in 2023, they counted 112 lions and tigers already down from the 136 housed at closure, and two years later almost half had succumbed to illnesses from poor nutrition, wounds from fights, infections from lack of medical care, and organ failure from stress. The shocking conditions included seven female lions crammed into a 10 square foot cage, while two Asian tigers shared a tiny enclosure with two African lions, a social composition that would never be found in nature and led to constant hostility and fighting.

After striking an agreement with Argentina’s government that committed the country to ending the sale and private ownership of exotic felines, Four Paws took over responsibility for the surviving animals last month and began emergency veterinary care. Veterinarians scrambled to assess animals one by one, discovering that most had not been vaccinated, sterilized, or microchipped, with quick checkups frequently transforming into emergency surgeries for bleeding gashes, vaginal tumors, infected molars broken on steel cage bars, and claws grown inward from walking on unnatural plank flooring. The Vienna based organization has previously evacuated starving tigers from Syria’s civil war and abandoned bears from war ravaged Iraq, but has never rescued such a large number of big cats before, making this one of their biggest missions worldwide. In the coming weeks, Four Paws will arrange transfers to more expansive natural sanctuaries around the world where a single lion typically gets 2.5 acres to itself instead of sharing cramped cages with incompatible species.

PrevPreviousLibrary Uses Indigenous Teachings To Heal ENTIRE Community
NextThe Wildlife Photographer Whose Quick Call Saved A LifeNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

Drunk Raccoon Update: Over $180k Raised!

December 23, 2025

When surveillance footage captured a raccoon on a booze-fueled rampage through an ABC liquor store in Ashland, Virginia, smashing dozens of bottles and raiding shelves before passing out face down on the bathroom floor, nobody could have predicted the viral sensation and fundraising phenomenon that would follow. Animal control officers

Read More
Happy News

This Restaurant Regular Never Missed A Day Until He Disappeared

December 23, 2025

At the Shrimp Basket restaurant in Pensacola, Florida, 78-year-old Charlie Hicks maintained the same standing order twice daily for 10 years, eating a cup of gumbo light on rice with no cracker for both lunch and dinner, arriving so reliably that chef Donell Stallworth could set his clock by him.

Read More
Happy News

The School Garden That Teaches Kids Food Doesn’t Come From Stores

December 23, 2025

When Sister Sharon Dillon arrived at Heritage Middle School in South Berwyn, Illinois six years ago, she found seven garden beds completely overtaken by weeds and wondered how such a positive school could look so neglected outside, but now those beds burst with cucumbers, collard greens, tomatoes, onions, garlic, potatoes,

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 HappyNews.