Ngo Van Sang, director of the Vuon Xoai Tourism Park, on Monday said the park would stop receiving visitors starting Tuesday to collaborate with authorities in containing the outbreak in its wild animal enclosure.
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Personnel disinfect and dispose of dead tigers at the Vuon Xoai Tourism Park in Dong Nai Province, October 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Phuoc Tuan |
"The reopening date will be announced later," Sang said, adding that the dead animals have been disposed of and the rest of the animals at the park remain healthy.
The Vuon Xoai eco-tourism park spans 23,000 square meters and houses around 3,000 animals from 90 species, including rare ones such as Bengal tigers, white lions, brown bears and rhinos.
Between Sept. 6 and Oct. 1, 20 tigers, weighing between 10 and 200 kg, along with a 100-kg panther, died from A/H5N1. The Dong Nai Center for Disease Control reported that the animals likely contracted the virus from poultry used as food, which had been sourced from outside the park.
In a related incident, My Quynh Zoo in Long An Province also reported the deaths of 27 tigers and three lions between August and Sept. 16 due to H5N1.
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A tiger is raised at My Quynh Zoo in Long An Province. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Nam |
Dinh Thi Phuong Khanh, vice director of the Long An Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated that while the source of the outbreak at My Quynh Zoo remains unidentified, no new cases have been reported for 21 days. The zoo remains operational as the deceased animals were disposed of properly, she added.
Earlier, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development urged the Dong Nai and Long An, both of which border Ho Chi Minh City, to implement strict management of food sources for the wild animals, and for the parks to remain closed until the outbreak is under control.