A year after its closure, what happens to the zoo of Buenos Aires? If last year the promise to return the animals to their freedom had been made, the pledge does not seem to have been kept. Although the place has closed, the animals are still in cages.

In July 2016, municipal officials in Buenos Aires, Argentina, made a historic decision to close the city's zoo after 140 years of loyal service. The site, which had no less than 2,500 residents, was now considered to be outdated and more suitable for animals. "This situation of captivity is degrading for the animals, it is not a way of taking care of them," explained Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, mayor of the municipality during an official ceremony. As a result of the closure, the site was to be transformed into a protection and awareness center for species, while the majority of the residents were to be transferred to the nature reserves of the country.

A commitment that has not been kept

But a year later, the bitterness is great. For although the zoo has closed its doors, most animals remain there. Although condors have been released and 360 other trafficked specimens have been transferred to other institutions, the majority of animals in the zoo are still on site in an environment deemed "dilapidated" by the NGO Fundacion Azara. The images captured in the structure show hippos bathed in dark waters as giraffes drink from plastic containers hanging on the roof and a baboon appears behind a dilapidated cage. In other words, we are far from the "ecopark" promised by the authorities, where the animals had to live in conditions close to a refuge. "The authorities have not made the enclosures bigger. There are minor infrastructure changes but there is a global deterioration," said Juan Carlos Sassroli, a former veterinarian of the zoo taken over by NBC News. "The pens have not been modified and probably the animals are suffering."

Reorganization more complicated than expected

When asked by protection organizations, the authorities said the process was more complicated than originally thought. To transfer the animals, criteria must be established and authorizations must be requested. The zoo has only recently engaged a conservation officer to study which animals can be moved and some experts fear that specimens are so accustomed to their life in the structure that a transfer even to natural reserves will lead to their death . On May 23rd, the local authorities discussed a new plan to "reorganize the park" without specifying the fate reserved for the residents. "We knew this was going to take time," explained at a press conference Rodriguez Larreta. "Accelerating the process will only endanger them, so we will take all the necessary time," he said.