Bird Flu Kills 20 Big Cats at Washington Wildlife Sanctuary

Facts

• Twenty big cats at the Wild Felid Advocacy Center in Shelton, Washington, reportedly died from bird flu between late November and mid-December 2024, reducing the sanctuary's population from 37 to 17 cats.^[1][2]
• The deceased animals included five African servals, four cougars, four bobcats, two Canada lynx, one Bengal-Amur tiger, one African caracal, one Geoffroy's cat, one Bengal cat, and one Eurasian lynx.^[3][4]
• The virus spread rapidly through the five-acre facility, despite the animals being housed in separate enclosures. The cats showed pneumonia-like symptoms and often died within 24 hours of infection.^[1][5]
• The sanctuary removed 8K pounds of stored food and initiated a months-long sanitation process, including disinfecting habitats and burning organic materials to prevent further spread.^[6]
• Health officials confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in over half of the sanctuary's cats, forcing the facility into quarantine until further notice.^[3][7]
• During the same period, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed bird flu infections in numerous wild birds and two additional cougars in Clallam County. The outbreak coincides with widespread bird flu cases affecting poultry farms and dairy herds across the US.^[1][6]

Sources: ^[1]Independent, ^[2]NBC, ^[3]The Guardian, ^[4]Axios, ^[5]CNN, ^[6]The New York Times and ^[7]USA Today.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Seattle Times. These deaths are heartbreaking and a significant loss to the country. The devastating outbreak demonstrates the increasing threat of bird flu to various species. As no one knows how the animals were infected and the virus continues to mutate and spread beyond traditional avian hosts, the disease puts both wildlife and domestic animals at unprecedented risk.
• Narrative B, as provided by BBC News. While the outbreak is concerning, public health risk remains low as no human-to-human transmission has been reported in the US to date. Since most human cases of bird flu have so far resulted only in mild symptoms, we can be confident that there is no need to panic, as bird flu is still an animal health issue.