Virus outbreak kills 72 tigers in Thailand

THAILAND (Dunya News) - At least 72 tigers have died at a private wildlife park in northern Thailand following an outbreak of a highly contagious virus, authorities confirmed.

According to international media reports, the deaths occurred at Tiger Kingdom, a privately operated park in the region.

The Provincial Livestock Office in Chiang Mai said that laboratory tests detected the presence of canine distemper virus — a highly infectious disease — among the tigers.

Bacteria affecting the animals’ respiratory systems were also found, compounding the severity of the outbreak.

The director of Thailand’s National Livestock Department told local media that identifying illness in tigers can be particularly challenging.

Unlike domestic animals such as cats or dogs, early symptoms in big cats are often difficult to detect.

“By the time we realised they were sick, it was already too late,” the official said.

Animal welfare organisation PETA Asia criticised the conditions in which the animals were kept, saying that the tigers died much as they had lived — in an environment marked by suffering, confinement and fear.

Experts have expressed concern over the incident, warning that disease surveillance and biosecurity measures at privately run wildlife parks must be strengthened to prevent similar tragedies.

They stressed that outbreaks in captive animal facilities not only endanger wildlife populations but can also pose broader ecological and public health risks.

The incident has renewed debate over the regulation and oversight of private animal attractions in Thailand, particularly those involving close human interaction with wildlife.

Authorities are expected to continue investigating the circumstances surrounding the outbreak.