Alarm in Vietnamese zoos: According to reports, at least 47 tigers and three lions died of bird flu in two zoos near Ho Chi Minh City in the south of the country in August and September. Among the animals that died were baby animals that were only a few weeks old.
More than thirty employees from the Mango Garden Resort and My Quynh Zoo had contact with the animals. So far no one has shown respiratory complaints.
Animal carcasses are destroyed
Tests showed the big cats died from the H5N1 influenza A virus, the report said. According to the online newspaper “Tuoi Tre”, the animal carcasses must be destroyed to prevent the disease from spreading further.
The pathogen mainly affects birds. However, sometimes mammals and in rare cases also humans become infected, for example through intensive contact with infected animals. Human infections with the variant currently circulating worldwide have only been recorded sporadically so far.
However, health experts warn of the danger that the virus adapts to humans and can then be transmitted from person to person.
“The deaths of 47 tigers, three lions and a panther as part of the bird flu outbreak in Vietnam is tragic and underlines the risks of keeping wild animals in captivity,” said animal rights organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) .
Zookeeping exposes animals to disease and stress
In their natural habitat, tigers roamed areas of up to 1,000 square kilometers “in a spatially complex and dynamic environment, in stark contrast to captivity in barren zoo enclosures.” Keeping animals in zoos exposes the animals to diseases and stress that they would not be helpless against in the wild.
Source: Krone
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