The New Jersey Department of Health has confirmed an H5 avian flu infection in a feral cat from Hunterdon County. The cat showed signs of severe illness, including nervous-system problems, and was euthanized. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the case.
Several cats at the same location were sick, and a house cat with outdoor access also tested positive. Officials are investigating and awaiting test results on the other cats. They note that while the cats had no known contact with infected farmed animals, raw milk, or raw meat, they may have come in contact with wild birds or other animals. Additionally, last month, health officials in California’s San Mateo County confirmed H5N1 in an adopted stray cat.
The Problem for Cats Does Not End There!
Since February, four households in Oregon and Washington have had cats infected with H5N1. All the cats had eaten raw poultry products made by Wild Coast Pet Foods. Sadly, two cats in one Oregon home and one cat in Washington had to be euthanized.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled Wild Coast’s frozen Boneless Free Range Chicken formula on March 1. People who fed their companion cats the recalled product should watch for fever, lethargy, poor appetite, red or swollen eyes, discharge from the eyes and nose, trouble breathing, tremors, stiff movements, seizures, lack of coordination, or blindness.
Factory farming is a ticking time bomb regarding pandemic risk, and reforms to our broken food system are needed to prevent a public health crisis. The bird flu epidemic in factory farms is not only harming chickens and other farmed birds but posing a threat to cats and other companion animals. We must take urgent action to address this issue.
While corporations cut corners to make as much money as possible, animals, workers, and communities pay the price. The Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act (IAA), legislation requiring corporations to take responsibility for the pandemic risks they create, is necessary to prevent the cruel on-farm mass killing of millions of animals and protect human health. Call on your members of Congress to pass the IAA now!
And remember, we can all do our part by choosing plant-based foods and refusing to support cruel industries that not only cause immense suffering but jeopardize public health.
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