Illegal zoo in Romania’s Dâmbovița County shut down over animal mistreatment

20 August 2026 Romania’s National Environmental Guard announced that it closed an unauthorized wildlife facility in Dâmbovița County and issued fines totaling RON 220,000. The authority also filed a criminal complaint against the International Wildlife Foundation (IWF) after inspectors allegedly found animals kept in unsanitary and inadequate conditions, sometimes without food or water. The facility operated as a so-called wildlife rehabilitation center but conducted activities specific to a zoo without an environmental permit, the Environmental Guard said. Inspections carried out in July and September 2025 found four lions, a male tiger cub, and two brown bears for which the foundation could not provide documents proving their origin or the necessary CITES certificates. Inspectors also re