“The deaths of 47 tigers, three lions, and a panther at My Quynh Safari and Vuon Xoai Zoo amid Vietnam’s bird flu outbreak are tragic and highlight the risks of keeping wild animals in captivity,” PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.

More than a dozen tigers have been incinerated after they contracted bird flu at a zoo, according to state media VNExpress. Local news quoted a caretaker at Vuon Xoai Zoo in Bien Hoa City saying the animals were fed with raw chicken bought from nearby farms.

The H5N1 strain first appeared in geese in 1996 and has caused bird outbreaks since then. Since 2020, a new variant of this virus has led to many deaths among wild birds and farm animals in several countries.