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Death toll rises to 9 in Boar’s Head-linked listeria outbreak, CDC says
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Niha Masih, The Washington Post
Published Aug 29, 2024 • Last updated 3 days ago • 3 minute read

Popular Deli Meat Maker Boar Head's Recalls 7 Million Pounds Of Meat After Listeria Outbreak
Boar's Head has expanded its recall of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products to nearly 7 million additional pounds due to a listeria outbreak.
Nine people have died and 57 have been hospitalized in a nationwide listeria outbreak linked to recalled Boar’s Head deli meat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday, describing it as the largest such outbreak in the United States since 2011.


Six new deaths were reported in Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico, New York and South Carolina, the CDC said. Earlier this month, the agency confirmed three deaths from the outbreak in Illinois, New Jersey and Virginia.

Last month, a Boar’s Head liverwurst sample collected by the Maryland Department of Health tested positive for the outbreak strain of listeria, prompting the deli meat and cheese company to issue a recall of all items produced at a facility in Jarratt, Va., and pause operations there.

At least 7 million pounds of more than 70 products, including ham, bologna, bacon and frankfurters, are part of the recall, according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Recalled items were produced between May 10 and July 29 under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brand names, the agency said. The recalled products were distributed nationwide and exported to the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Panama, it added.


The CDC urged the public to avoid consuming the recalled products and look out for the numbers “EST. 12612” or “P-12612” inside the USDA mark of inspection on Boar’s Head product labels.

“We deeply regret the impact this recall has had on affected families,” Boar’s Head said in a statement in mid-August. “No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep hurt we feel for those who have suffered losses or endured illness.” The family-run company was founded in 1905 in New York and describes itself as the “leading premium deli meat and cheese company” in the country.

The CDC said the outbreak is the largest since one in 2011 that was linked to cantaloupes, in which 147 people were infected and 33 died across 28 states, according to the agency’s archive. Recent listeria outbreaks in the United States have been tied to cheese and dairy products, packaged salads and enoki mushrooms.


People contract listeria by consuming food contaminated with the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium. With an estimated 1,600 infections and 260 deaths every year, listeria is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States, the CDC says.

Pregnant people, newborns, those older than 65 and people with weak immune systems are at highest risk of falling severely ill from listeria, according to the CDC. Symptoms of the illness can include fever, muscle aches, loss of balance, convulsions and intestinal problems. It can take up to 10 weeks for some people to have symptoms.

Some consumers are suing Boar’s Head after eating their products and falling seriously ill, the Associated Press reported. Among them are Sue Fleming, 88, who spent nine days in a hospital with a listeria infection, and Ashley Solberg, who said in her lawsuit that she “nearly lost her unborn child” when she contracted the illness, according to the AP.

CBS reported that inspections of the company’s Jarratt facility over the past year revealed the presence of mold, mildew and insects. Boar’s Head did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.

A list of recalled products and photos of their labels can be found at the USDA site at
 

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U.S. reports 28th death caused by exploding Takata air bag inflators that can spew shrapnel
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Sep 03, 2024 • 1 minute read

DETROIT — Another death has been linked to dangerous Takata air bag inflators by U.S. regulators, the 28th in the United States.


The driver was killed in 2018 in Alabama in a Honda vehicle, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said, but gave no further details. It says the death underscores the need for people to replace recalled air bag inflators.

Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate over time due to high heat and humidity and explode with too much force. That can blow apart a metal canister and send shrapnel into the passenger compartment. More than 400 people in the U.S. have been hurt.

Worldwide at least 35 people have been killed by Takata inflators in Malaysia, Australia and the U.S.

Potential for a dangerous malfunction led to the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history, with at least 67 million Takata inflators involved. The U.S. government says many have not been repaired. About 100 million inflators have been recalled worldwide. The exploding air bags sent Takata into bankruptcy.
 

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Torontonians encouraged to protect birds during city's Lights Out campaign
Author of the article:Jane Stevenson
Published Sep 06, 2024 • 1 minute read

It’s another sign fall is fast approaching.


The City of Toronto has began its Lights Out Toronto awareness campaign, which stretches until Oct. 31, in connection with the beginning of one of two annual bird migration seasons.

The city says millions of birds travel through Toronto, which is an important rest stop during their journey south. And like other urban areas, the city poses a danger to migratory birds.

It’s estimated a million birds are killed each year in the Greater Toronto Area and 25 million across Canada due to collisions with building windows as they are often drawn by city lights and confused by reflections and transparency of glass, leading to fatal collisions.

As part of the campaign, city officials are encouraging residents and businesses to turn off exterior decorative lighting, pot lights and flood lights when not in use.


Other suggestions include using dark sky compliant exterior lighting that is directed downward, turning off interior lighting at night when not in use, closing window coverings at night if lights must be kept on, install automatic motion sensors and controls on lighting wherever possible, and learn how to use window treatments to make glass visible to birds.

Toronto was the first city in North America to officially adopt migratory bird protection policies, according to officials.

The city said properties operated by its divisions, agencies and corporations will follow the seasonal practice of turning off non-essential lights during the two annual bird migration periods with exceptions for special events or critical operations.
 

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Man charged with killing 81 animals in three-hour shooting rampage
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Olga R. Rodriguez
Published Sep 06, 2024 • 2 minute read

SAN FRANCISCO — A man suspected of going on a three-hour shooting rampage in Northern California and killing 81 animals, including miniature horses, goats and chickens, pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty and other charges.


Vicente Arroyo, 39, made his first court appearance Thursday after Monterey County Sheriff deputies arrested him earlier in the week for allegedly using several weapons to shoot the animals being housed in pens and cages on a lot in the small community of Prunedale.

The animal owners do not want to be identified or speak with the media, Monterey County Sheriff Commander Andres Rosas told The Associated Press Friday.

“I went out there, and it was a pretty traumatic scene. These were people’s pets,” he said.

One of the miniature horses belonged to the owner of the lot where the animals were housed, the other 80 belonged to someone who rented the land to house their pets, Rosas said.

According to court records, Arroyo was charged with killing 14 goats, nine chickens, seven ducks, five rabbits, a guinea pig and 33 parakeets and cockatiels. Arroyo is also charged with killing a pony named Lucky and two miniature horses named Estrella and Princessa, KSBW-TV reported.


Some animals survived the shooting that lasted several hours but had to be euthanized because of the severity of their injuries, Rosas said.

Rosas said Arroyo lived in a camper in a vineyard next to the lot where the animals were kept and that a motive is not yet known.

His attorney, William Pernik, did not immediately respond to a telephone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Pernik raised doubts about his mental competency during Thursday’s trial, KSVW-TV reported. The judge ordered Arroyo, who is being held on a $1 million bail, to undergo a mental evaluation.

The court will get an update on Arroyo’s mental status in two weeks, the television station reported.

Authorities received multiple 911 calls around 3:25 a.m. Tuesday reporting shots being fired in Prunedale, an incorporated community about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from the city of Salinas, he said.


Deputies who arrived on the scene could hear shots being fired, and a shelter-in-place was ordered for a five-mile radius.

Monterey County S.W.A.T. members were sent in, and the sheriff’s office also requested drone assistance from the nearby Seaside Fire Department and Gonzales Police Department, Rosas said.

Officers in an armored vehicle arrested Arroyo without incident, he said.

Deputies found a crashed pickup truck and recovered eight firearms, including long rifles, shotguns and handguns, at the scene. After executing a search warrant on his camper, they found another seven firearms, including an illegal AK-47 assault rifle, two ghost guns, and about 2,000 rounds of various calibers of ammunition, Rosas said.

Prosecutors charged Arroyo with dozens of charges involving animal cruelty, willful discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, illegal possession of an assault weapon, vandalism, drug possession and making criminal threats and terrorizing while being in possession of a firearm as a felon.

“This is obviously the most horrific animal cruelty case we’ve ever seen in this county, I’m sure,” Chief Assistant District Attorney Berkley Brannon told KSBW-TV after the Thursday hearing.
 

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Missouri town wanted answers after K-9 died. His officer was charged
Author of the article:Washington Post
Washington Post
Jonathan Edwards, The Washington Post
Published Sep 10, 2024 • 4 minute read

Savannah Police Lt. Daniel Zeigler and his police dog, Horus
Savannah Police Lt. Daniel Zeigler and his police dog, Horus, in 2021. Photo by Savannah Police Department /Washington Post
A police officer in Missouri was charged Friday with animal abuse for allegedly leaving his police dog inside a cruiser, where he died of heat exposure.


The Missouri attorney general’s office charged Savannah Police Lt. Daniel Zeigler with misdemeanor animal abuse in Andrew County Circuit Court, alleging that he went into his house after finishing a shift in late June, leaving police dog Horus inside his SUV for hours as the maximum temperature hit 90 degrees.

Prosecutors say Zeigler had “K9 Officer Horus in his custody or ownership and knowingly failed to provide adequate care for the animal which resulted in substantial harm to the animal.” If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail and a fine as high as $2,000.

In the past 2½ months, Savannah residents have demanded that officials release more information about his death; his quick, unheralded burial; and what they say has been an attempt to cover up Zeigler’s alleged negligence.


“Zeigler needs to be terminated,” said Jamie Marcum, a Savannah resident who has led efforts to get information about what happened to Horus before and after he died. “There is no reason on God’s green earth that an officer that negligently kills his partner, whether it’s a K-9 or a human, should be allowed to continue on in a law enforcement career.”

Zeigler and the Savannah Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Washington Post Monday. On July 3, Police Chief David Vincent said in a department Facebook post that Horus was “a great asset to our department and the community.”

“I trusted this K-9 around my grandchildren and they adored him,” Vincent added. “I am upset and angry about what happened to Horus as everyone else is.”


Emily Grey, CEO of Spike’s K-9 Fund, a nonprofit that provides law enforcement agencies with police dog safety equipment, said she’s never heard of K-9 handler being criminally charged with their dog’s death.

Dispatch logs from the county’s 911 communications operation show that Zeigler and Horus finished their overnight shift at 4:49 a.m. June 20, Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Justin Johnson wrote in a sworn affidavit. At 5:54 p.m., more than 13 hours later, Zeigler contacted Vincent to report Horus’s death.

The police chief went to Zeigler’s house to confirm that the dog had died, Johnson wrote. Vincent determined that Zeigler had left him in the vehicle after their shift and died of heat exposure.


One of Zeigler’s neighbors told investigators that he saw Zeigler “flipping out” next to the Horus’s body after discovering it in the cruiser, taking it out and putting it on his lawn, Johnson said. Zeigler was yelling in disbelief because he thought he had brought the dog in after his shift.

Another witness who helped bury Horus later that day said that he heard Zeigler tell Vincent that the dog’s death was his fault, he added.

On June 26, authorities performed a “functionality test” on the cruiser in which Horus died to see whether rising temperatures would activate the vehicle’s AceK9 system, which is designed to prevent police dogs from overheating in sealed vehicles, Johnson said. They parked the cruiser outside in direct sunlight with the ignition turned off, he added. When the internal temperature reached 90 degrees, the AceK9 system turned on, causing the SUV to honk repeatedly, activate a fan and roll down the rear windows.


Johnson concluded that the AceK9 system was working and would have had to have been manually turned off on June 20, the affidavit states.

“The deactivation of the AceK9 system directly contributed to the death of K-9 Horus by removing a safeguard to prevent such an incident,” he said.

Grey, whose organization provides AceK9 systems, said police-dog heat deaths have jumped in recent years. While the equipment can prevent the deaths, technology is no replacement for being aware of where the dogs are and for checking on them, she added.

“It only takes several minutes for that temperature in the car to get to a point where it’s unbearable for the dog, and even fatal,” she said.

Grey said she’s never heard of an officer being criminally charged with their police dog’s death.


Horus joined the Savannah Police Department in 2021, when he was nearly 2 years old, according to a department Facebook post. He and Zeigler were praised at least twice at City Council meetings over the past three years for “getting drugs off the street,” according to minute of the meeting

Horus was a fixture in the community. When no one had seen him for two days, a Savannah resident posted on Facebook asking whether anyone had seen him, said Marcum, whose led the efforts to get information about Horus’s death. Residents contacted local news station KQ2, which confirmed with police that Horus died and that the county prosecutor asked the State Highway Patrol to investigate what had happened. The stations also reported that Savannah police believe Horus’s death was accidental.


Marcum, who has five dogs, said she was going to start crying as she thought about learning Horus had died alone as the temperature in the SUV rose and his organs shut down one by one.

“He literally suffered a long, horrible death,” she told The Washington Post.

Zeigler’s misdemeanor charge is not justice, Marcum added. She pointed to an incident in which a man in nearby St. Joseph was charged with felony animal abuse for allegedly throwing a dog off a bridge on June 9. The pit bull fell 15 feet and, although it went through several surgeries, died.

“Everybody needs to be accountable,” she said.

Horus’s indignity continued into the afterlife, Marcum said. Within hours, he was dumped into an unmarked hole on city property. Then, city officials said nothing until residents and journalists started asking questions. They did nothing about a grave marker, funeral or obituary until residents pressured them at City Council meetings and through their Facebook group City of Savannah Voices for K-9 Officer Horus, Marcum said.

“Nothing is done with this unless we say something,” she added.
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RCMP seek tips after puppies tortured, killed, dumped near Edmonton
'They suffered significant trauma before being deceased ... it looked very deliberate.'

Author of the article:Jackie Carmichael
Published Sep 14, 2024 • Last updated 13 hours ago • 3 minute read

Warning: this story contains disturbing details.


RCMP investigators are asking for the public’s help to find out who tortured two retriever-cross puppies to death and dumped the bodies near a public walking path in Fort Saskatchewan.

Someone out for a walk in the afternoon of Aug. 5 made the disturbing discovery.

Two dead puppies, male siblings, appeared to have been shaved in the back and belly areas and multiple stab wounds had been inflicted while the puppies were alive, said Fort Saskatchewan RCMP Const. Lauren Mowbrey.

“They suffered significant trauma before being deceased. It looked very deliberate,” Mowbrey said.

The bodies were sent to the University of Calgary’s clinical pathology unit, where a necropsy was performed.

The dogs were likely between about six and eight weeks old and from the same retriever-cross litter, were likely born in mid-to-late June, and may not have been weaned for very long, so they may have been adopted in July or early August, said Mowbrey.


The puppies were likely killed elsewhere and dropped at the site in the morning or early afternoon hours of Aug. 5.

They were dumped in an area of cropped grass, visible from the path, parallel to but not visible from Highway 15, near Walmart and Canadian Tire, not far from the golf course, pool, and rink complex.

“They were left in an area where they were likely to be found,” Mowbrey said.

“Obviously, somebody knows something.”

There are laws pertaining to killing or injuring of animals and causing unnecessary suffering and damage to animals.

Mowbrey said it’s the worst such case she’s seen in 14 years with the RCMP.

Psychological history
While Edmonton forensic psychiatrist Dr. Maryana Kravtsenyuk hasn’t seen the case details, cases of severe animal cruelty prompt experts to consider a perpetrator’s psychological history.


“We know that there is a great degree of relationship between trauma and violence. We know that animal cruelty is frequently seen in conduct-disordered children that have a substantial amount of trauma in their early years,” Kravtsenyuk said, noting that individual cases have their own nuances.

“Generally, we would think about profiling someone who has psychopathic type of tendencies, interest in inflicting pain and suffering on others, and having some sort of emotional response to such acts, or to observing how other people would react to such acts,” she said.

“We always have to look at underlying causes and roots of that violent mind, and typically it’s grounded in serious trauma, pain and suffering at a very early age.”


Psychopathic personalities may have elements of anti-social and narcissistic traits, or being calculated and lacking empathy and remorse, Kravtsenyuk said.

Anyone with information about the case, including those in the Edmonton-Fort Saskatchewan area who may have seen or heard puppies in distress, or who may have recently adopted out retriever-cross puppies, is urged to contact the Fort Saskatchewan RCMP detachment at 780-997-7900. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at

jcarmichael@postmedia.com
 

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TV zoologist caged for raping, torturing, killing canines begged wife for dog books

Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Sep 30, 2024 • Last updated 20 hours ago • 3 minute read

DEMENTED DOCTOR: TV vet Adam Britton led a secret life of depravity.
TV vet Adam Britton led a secret life of depravity.
A popular BBC TV zoologist caged for raping, torturing and murdering dogs is being called a “psychopath” by his ex-wife, who was oblivious to his twisted desires.


Dr. Adam Britton even begged his former wife to send books on dogs to him after he was jailed.

Erin Britton told the Aussie TV news magazine 60 Minutes she had been out of town for business when cops raided their Darwin, Australia home. The revelations were shocking as she had “no idea why or what the crimes were.”

A lawyer set her straight, informing her that the demented doctor stood accused of raping and torturing 42 dogs. Britton killed at least 39 of the animals.

Britton was sentenced to 10 years in prison last month for his horrific crimes. He was also convicted of possessing child pornography.

Erin Britton had no idea of her husband Adam’s trwisted desires.
Erin Britton had no idea of her husband Adam’s trwisted desires.
“She told me that there were crimes of animal cruelty and, you know, obviously there was bestiality,” she told 60 Minutes. “And when she told me bestiality my brain was, like, denial.”


She added: “Hearing that information is the most awful thing you could ever hear about your partner. It was so shocking … I felt sick I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think. He is a psychopath … I cannot comprehend still how someone could be so depraved, so evil.”

It was a dramatic fall from grace for Adam Britton.

The TV vet had worked closely with the legendary nature filmmaker, Sir David Attenborough, on a series of BBC documentaries.

ERIN BRITTON: “He doesn’t have any consciousness of what is right or wrong.”
ERIN BRITTON: “He doesn’t have any consciousness of what is right or wrong.”
His former wife — now divorced from the British-born zoologist — said he continues trying to contact her. On his wish list? Books on dogs, their breeding history, their domestication and behaviour.

“He’s writing about this as if he can, sort of, continue his fantasies in his mind, and it makes me really angry,” Erin Britton said, claiming the “disturbing” request “messed with her head”.


She added: “He doesn’t have any consciousness of what is right or wrong, I feel like I’ve lost so much of my life and I feel like I’ve been completely duped. He’s just destroyed my entire life.”

Most recently, Adam Britton was a senior research associate at Charles Darwin University. He allegedly began his abuse in 2014.

His crusade of cruelty and deprivation only ended when he was arrested in 2022. A tipster sent detectives a video of the vile vet committing the abuse that he had posted online.


Online among like-minded maniacs, he used the handles Monster and Cerberus.

Det. Paul Cronin said of the tip: “With that email, was a 15-minute video of a naked Caucasian man in the bush doing indescribable things to dogs.”

But the video provided a clue. The female dog was wearing an orange lead.


“And that lead had ‘Great pets start with you’ written across it. That happens to be the Darwin City Council slogan for pets,” Cronin said.

Investigators later found dog remains in the freezer at the vet’s home as well as trestle tables and camera tripods set up as a studio where he filmed his crimes. He also owned a pet alligator.

“So he was most likely feeding those [the dead dogs] to the crocodile,” his wife said.

In addition, Britton waxed with fellow sickos on encrypted messaging services about bestiality, animal abuse, the acquisition of dogs, and methods for disposing of their bodies.

A forensic search of his laptop also revealed 15 files of child sexual abuse material. Included were toddlers being subjected to horrifying sexual abuse.

“How is that possible that somebody can possibly, that is frightening. Just, I still feel sick. Knowing that somebody was capable of things like that.”

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun
 

spaminator

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Man reportedly feeds zoo chicken to alligator in Australia
Author of the article:Kevin Connor
Published Oct 01, 2024 • 1 minute read

A chicken named Betty White is dead after reportedly being thrown into an alligator enclosure by an Australian park guest.
A chicken named Betty White is dead after reportedly being thrown into an alligator enclosure by an Australian park guest.
A chicken named Betty White is dead after reportedly being thrown into an alligator enclosure by an Australian park guest.


On Tuesday, Sept. 24, Peter Smith, who is in his 50s, pleaded guilty in an Australian court to aggravated animal cruelty, the Australian Associated Press reported, per people.com.

The chicken toss happened in January at the Oakvale Farm and Fauna World at Salt Ash in New South Wales.

The Australian Associated Press reported Smith reached over rocks at Betty White’s sanctuary and hid the white Chinese silkie bantam chicken in his shirt.

Smith then went to the alligator enclosure and threw the bird in where it was killed.

Days later, Smith went to the police and confessed.

He said he was “really disappointed” in his behavior.

Smith’s defense lawyer, Bryan Wrench, said his client “just wanted to feed an alligator” who was hungry.


On Tuesday, Magistrate Kirralee Perry told Wrench, “These are serious allegations.”



Smith faces a maximum penalty for aggravated animal cruelty and could face two years in jail and a $24,084 fine.

“This is the first time in our 43 years that we have had a member of the public (allegedly) engage in such cruelty in what is an animal sanctuary,” Oakvale Farm owner Kent Sansom said in a statement.

“Betty White was hand-raised at the park and had played a crucial role in our endangered species breeding program for the bush stone curlew and other species by providing surrogacy to the chicks.”
 

IdRatherBeSkiing

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If he wanted to feed the alligator, he should have just stepped into the enclosure himself.

Also, in Australia I am pretty sure it would be crocodiles.
 

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Niagara man strangled dog, repeatedly 'smashed' pet into railing, cops allege
Man also accused of assaulting 2 cops

Author of the article:postmedia News
Published Oct 03, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read

A Welland man is accused of despicable violence towards a dog and allegedly striking two police officers when they tried to arrest him.


Niagara Regional Police said officers responded on Monday at about 3:15 p.m. to the Dennistoun and Hooker Sts. area of Welland for an animal complaint call.

According to police, an investigation revealed that a man was allegedly holding a shihtzu dog up by the leash, strangling it.

Police alleged that the man then “smashed the dog into the railing of his front porch six times and then struck the dog with a long dark stick.”

The accused also allegedly punched the dog several times, police said.

Officers arrived on scene and approached the man and requested he hand over the dog. Police said the man refused and a struggle ensued between an officer and the suspect.

Cops said the officer was eventually able to take the dog from the accused’s possession.


However, police said when the suspect was informed he was under arrest, he allegedly “resisted and struck the officers multiple times in the head and face.”

Police said officers eventually gained control of the accused and he was placed under arrest.



Two officers sustained minor physical injuries.

Glen Ireland, 33, was charged with willfully cause unnecessary pain/suffering or injury to an animal and two counts of assault with intent to resist arrest.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call police at 905-688-4111 option 3, ext. 1009287, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at
 

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Dozens of zoo tigers die after contracting bird flu in southern Vietnam
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Hau Dinh
Published Oct 04, 2024 • 2 minute read

HANOI, Vietnam — More than a dozen tigers were incinerated after the animals contracted bird flu at a zoo in southern Vietnam, officials said.


State media VNExpress cited a caretaker at Vuon Xoai zoo in Bien Hoa city saying the animals were fed with raw chicken bought from nearby farms. The panther and 20 tigers, including several cubs, weighed between 10 and 120 kilograms (20 and 265 pounds) when they died. The bodies were incinerated and buried on the premises.

“The tigers died so fast. They looked weak, refused to eat and died after two days of falling sick,” said zoo manager Nguyen Ba Phuc.

Samples taken from the tigers tested positive for H5N1, the virus that causes bird flu.

The virus was first identified in 1959 and grew into a widespread and highly lethal menace to migratory birds and domesticated poultry. It has since evolved, and in recent years H5N1 was detected in a growing number of animals ranging from dogs and cats to sea lions and polar bears.


In cats, scientists have found the virus attacking the brain, damaging and clotting blood vessels and causing seizures and death.

More than 20 other tigers were isolated for monitoring. The zoo houses some 3,000 other animals including lions, bears, rhinos, hippos and giraffes.

The 30 staff members who were taking care of the tigers tested negative for bird flu and were in normal health condition, VNExpress reported. Another outbreak also occurred at a zoo in nearby Long An province, where 27 tigers and 3 lions died within a week in September, the newspaper said.

Unusual flu strains that come from animals are occasionally found in people. Health officials in the United States said Thursday that two dairy workers in California were infected — making 16 total cases detected in the country in 2024.

“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.

“The exploitation of wild animals also puts global human health at risk by increasing the likelihood of another pandemic,” Baker said.

Bird flu has caused hundreds of deaths around the world, the vast majority of them involving direct contact between people and infected birds.