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A zoo in Poland is giving temporary refuge to a truck load of tigers after they were left stranded at the border with Belarus for days.

The ten tigers were prevented from entering Belarus as they lacked veterinary documents.

They had travelled from Rome and were heading to a circus in Russia. One of the tigers died on Tuesday.

The Poznan Zoo said on Facebook that the animals were on their way to the site.

It said that the animals had been kept in "appalling" conditions.

According to Polish media, neither the driver of the truck nor the animals had the correct permits to enter Belarus.

The animals are said to have been stranded at the border since 26 October. It does not have any facilities for unloading the animals who are said to be exhausted.

On its Facebook page, Poznan Zoo wrote: "The battle begins to keep them alive. We don't know how many will make it.

"Our employees arrived at the scene to discover a real nightmare. The tigers have excrement stuck to their fur and are tired and hungry. Our veterinarian says their condition is appalling."

The zoo plans to quarantine the animals and hopes to send a few of them to Spain once they recover.

Local authorities have begun an investigation into whether animal protection laws were violated.