Visitors to Argentina's Lujan Zoo are being allowed to enter the enclosures where lions and tigers are kept, and pictures taken of people petting the big cats have created a controversy and prompted warnings from Buenos Aires province officials.

"Since 1998, regulations prohibit the public from coming into close contact with wild animals," Buenos Aires province Undersecretary of Agriculture Leonardo Mascitelly told Efe.

The Lujan Zoo, located 70 kilometers (43 miles) west of the city of Buenos Aires, has been the subject of reports in the past for allowing visitors into the big felines' areas, and pictures of humans posing with tigers and lions have been posted on social networks.

The latest reports, Mascitelli said, could lead to "fines or closure" of the animal park.

The zoo's operators said the lions and tigers were "domesticated" and were not dangerous.

Animal rights activists have alleged repeatedly that at the Lujan Zoo captive animals are mistreated.

In 2012, a pony bit a 4-year-old girl at the Lujan Zoo. Two years earlier, a 7-year-old boy was attacked by a bear he was trying to feed at the Ezeiza Zoo, also located in Buenos Aires province.

source