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Thiruvananthapuram: The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo closed down on Saturday night after 19 wild boars were detected with foot-and-mouth disease.
Zoo authorities culled the wild boars after one of the animals was found to be infected two days ago, wiping out the zoo's entire wild boar stock.
It is the second time in the last month that the zoo has been closed after an Indian Gaur and a dozen blackbucks fell victim to the disease on July 8.
A team of experts called in from Hyderabad confirmed that the deaths occurred due to an FMD virus of strain 'O'.
State Minister M.A. Baby said, "This time the wild boars have been affected and it has been decided to cull them."
Zoo veterinarian Jayakumar said, "The source of infection has to be destroyed. This is being done to protect the unaffected animals."
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