Tiger Tragedy: 72 Dead in Thai Tourist Park
A deadly canine distemper virus outbreak kills 72 tigers at Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai, prompting an urgent probe into captive wildlife health risks.
Officials in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai are investigating the deaths of dozens of tigers at a popular tourist destination this month.
72 tigers died in less than two weeks at two sites within Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai, a park where visitors can touch and interact with the tigers.
The local livestock department said samples from the tigers tested positive for canine distemper virus – though officials have not confirmed how the disease spread.
Officials said on Monday that they had cremated and buried the tigers.
According to local media, they were among more than 240 tigers living at two sites within Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai.
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"By the time we realized they were sick, it was too late," Somchuan Ratanmuangklanon, director of the National Livestock Department, told local media. He added that disease is more difficult to detect in tigers than in animals like cats or dogs. The Provincial Livestock Office in Chiang Mai said last week that samples from the tiger carcasses tested positive for canine distemper virus as well as bacteria associated with respiratory disease.
Canine distemper virus is a highly contagious disease that attacks the host's respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. Although it is most commonly found in dogs, it can also infect big cats—often fatally.
The Provincial Livestock Office previously said that initial tests showed the tigers were infected with feline parvovirus. According to the Bangkok Post, some local officials initially suspected the outbreak may have been caused by spoiled raw chicken meat fed to the tigers.
A major bird flu outbreak at a tiger zoo in Chonburi Province in 2004 was also attributed to raw chicken. In that case, approximately 150 tigers died or were euthanized to prevent the influenza from spreading further. According to a Thai PBS report, the Disease Control Department said over the weekend that none of the veterinarians or other staff working at the Chiang Mai tiger enclosures fell ill with the canine distemper virus, but they have been placed under observation for 21 days.
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Animal rights groups say the case highlights the poor living conditions of captive tigers used for entertainment in Thailand.
Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand said in a statement that the tigers' deaths highlight "the extreme vulnerability of captive wildlife facilities to infectious diseases."
PETA Asia told AFP that if tourists "stay away" from these attractions, "such tragic incidents would be much less likely to occur."
Tiger Kingdom Chiang Mai has been temporarily closed for two weeks as authorities carry out disinfection work.
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