In zoo in Vietnam

Dozens of tigers and lions die of bird flu

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations described the increase in bird flu cases in the Asia-Pacific region in July as "alarming".(Bild: AFP)

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. The dead animals included cubs just a few weeks old.

More than 30 employees at the Mango Garden Resort and My Quynh Zoo had been in contact with the animals. So far, no one has shown respiratory symptoms.

Animal carcasses are destroyed
Tests had shown that the big cats had died from the H5N1 influenza A virus, it said. According to the online newspaper "Tuoi Tre", the animal carcasses are to be destroyed to prevent further spread of the disease.

The pathogen mainly affects birds. However, mammals and, in rare cases, humans are sometimes infected, for example through intensive contact with infected animals. Human infections with the variant currently circulating worldwide have so far only been recorded in isolated cases.

However, health experts warn of the risk of the virus adapting to humans and then being transmitted from person to person.

The death of 47 tigers, three lions and a panther in the avian flu outbreak in Vietnam is tragic and highlights the risks of keeping wild animals in captivity.

Tierrechtsorganisation PETA

"The deaths of 47 tigers, three lions and a panther in the avian flu outbreak in Vietnam are tragic and highlight the risks of keeping wild animals in captivity," said the animal rights organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

Keeping animals in zoos exposes them to disease and stress
In their natural habitat, tigers roam territories of up to 1000 square kilometers "in a spatially complex and dynamic environment, in stark contrast to captivity in barren enclosures in zoos". Keeping animals in zoos exposes them to diseases and stress to which they would not be helplessly exposed in the wild.