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Rescued tiger finds new home in Netherlands

Tsezar the tiger is getting a new home in the Netherlands

thanks to animal welfare organization Four Paws

(SOUNDBITE) (English) MISSION LEADER, BARBARA VAN GENNE, SAYING: "Four Paws is rescuing Tsezar. He is a tiger that had many many horrible years behind him. He was rescued two years ago from a private club in Ukraine, then was brought here because there was no permanent solution for him and although he's been taken care of really well here, it's a very small enclosure and it's not suitable for permanent keeping. And today, finally, we're able to rescue him and bring him to Felida big cat sanctuary in the Netherlands."

Tsezar was rescued in early 2020

after being abused by the entertainment and commercial trade

He was temporarily kept at a wildlife sanctuary in Kyiv

where he began his recovery before a new home was found

The Felida sanctuary offers care and shelter to traumatized big cats

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ANIMAL HANDLING LEAD AT FELIDA BIG CAT SANCTUARY, JUNO VAN ZON, SAYING: " He can have all the time he can get here to become close to us and trust us, but what we will do is that we set up positive reinforcement training. So basically what that means is that we really try to build up a bond with him. And this will actually start right now."

Four Paws estimates that 1,600 tigers live in captivity in Europe

compared to around 3,900 left in the wild