SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The only zoo in the Dominican Republic is providing a safe haven for confiscated illegal and smuggled animals as a government crackdown aimed at protecting exotic species gathers pace.

Tucked inside a green oasis in the middle of the capital, Santo Domingo, are crocodiles, flamingos, and even tigers that officials have confiscated from people accused of illegally keeping them. The numbers are growing and threaten to overload the country’s lone zoo.