Bird Flu scare: Chicken taken off Bengal zoo menu after three tigers, one leopard die in Maharashtra

The decision follows the deaths of three tigers and a leopard due to the H5N1virus.

The West Bengal Zoo Authority (WBZA) has removed chicken from the diets of carnivorou animals across state-run zoos as a precautionary measure.

The decision follows the deaths of three tigers and a leopard due to the H5N1 (Avian Influenza) virus at Maharashtra’s Gorewada Rescue Centre in Nagpur.

Eleven state-run zoos, including mini zoos in West Bengal, have switched to feeding goat, lamb, and pig meat to animals that usually consume chicken, reported the Indian Express.
This change, implemented in early February under guidelines from the Central Zoo Authority, is expected to continue until the end of March.

WBZA member-secretary Saurabh Choudhury said that several preventive measures are in place, including removing chicken from animal diets, spraying pesticides, restricting zookeepers from feeding both zoo and rescued birds, and enforcing strict hygiene protocols.

The Indian government has issued a red alert to all zoos, rescue, and transit centers, urging them to monitor animals for symptoms.

Meanwhile, Karnataka’s health department remains on high alert following the outbreak in South India.

Zoos typically procure chicken from local markets as they do not have in-house poultry farms. Carnivores such as tigers, lions, leopards, jackals, jaguars, and hyenas are usually fed buffalo and chicken meat.

Some birds who are also provided meat-based diets are now under strict watch.