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Several US zoos have reported bird flu infections and animal deaths on-site.
Read more: Bird Flu Found In Raw Milk In The US, Officials Say
Earlier this month, the Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park, Arizona, reported that a cheetah, mountain lion, swamphen, Indian goose, and a kookaburra all died from exposure to H5N1, or bird flu. A white tiger also tested positive at the zoo but is responding to treatment.
According to The Arizona Republic, this is the third instance of bird flu infecting animals in the state and the second instance in Maricopa County alone. Two farm workers from the neighboring Pinal County have contracted the virus from infected poultry.
KQED reported that The San Francisco Zoo has temporarily closed its indoor bird exhibits after a wild red-shouldered hawk who lived on the grounds died and tested positive for bird flu, also earlier this month. So far, none of the zoo’s resident animals have been infected.
In November, Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo reported the death of a red-breasted goose who tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAIV). The zoo said it would be implementing “additional health and safety precautions” to protect its birds, staff, and guests.
Read more: Wildlife Populations Have Plunged 73% In 50 Years
Bird flu, zoos, and disease
The H5N1 virus has notably spread from wild birds to farmed poultry to dairy cows, and while there has been no documented human-to-human transmission so far there have been at least 44 human cases. The virus has also infected a range of wild and domestic animals.
As the H5N1 epidemic spreads, the possibility of another bird flu pandemic becomes more likely. As on animal farms, zoos provide a unique opportunity for the virus to spread amongst different species, including the endangered animals that zoos purport to protect.
Zoos are increasingly controversial. Animal advocacy groups like Freedom For Animals believe that keeping animals captive is both cruel and unjustifiable. The majority of animals bred in zoos are not threatened in the wild, and breeding programs often result in low levels of genetic diversity and disease, much like factory-farmed food animals.
The presence of bird flu at US zoos follows the deaths of 47 tigers, three lions, and a panther at zoos in South Vietnam, as reported by the BBC. Zoos remain a likely source of future zoonotic outbreaks as they are home to a variety of species, typically at a high density.
