Authorities made a sad and shocking discovery when they opened up this crate that had been left unopened at Beirut Airport in Lebanon for over a week. Inside were three tiger cubs in a critical state, without food or water.
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The cubs were being transferred from a zoo in Ukraine to a Syrian zoo but they were somehow left behind at Beirut airport. According to authorities there was nothing on the box that indicated that it contained live animals.
When the crate - which had just a few holes punched in it - was finally opened, the poor tiger cubs were covered in urine, faeces and maggots and their paws were red and raw. They were dehydrated and starving.
A charity took the cubs in and fought for them to be confiscated from their irresponsible owners. However, it seems that a judge ruled in favour of the cubs going back to their owners and it is not clear what has happened to them since, as activists fear this could mean they'll end up back on the black market.
