|
Germans trying to dump cats
02/03/2006 18:52 - (SA)
Berlin - The German animal welfare society said on Thursday it was being overwhelmed by people who wanted to give their cats away or put them down after a farm feline died of bird flu here.
Alexandra Diezermann of the sopciety said: "Cat owners are in a panic. We have had endless phone calls from people wanting to give away their cats immediately.
"Some are even ready to have them put to sleep. It is really bad.
"It is particularly bad in Bavaria," she added, referring to the southern state which is one of five in which bird flu has been detected since mid-February.
Germany's national veterinary laboratory confirmed on Thursday that a dead cat found on the Baltic island of Ruegen had been infected with the highly pathogenic strain of H5N1 bird flu that could prove fatal to humans.
The disease killed domestic and wild cats, including dozens of tigers, in Asia in 2005, but the cat found on the island was the first case of an infected mammal in the European Union.
As a result, German authorities have ordered pet owners in all bird flu-hit regions to keep cats indoors and dogs on leashes.
According to the World Health Organisation, it remains unclear whether the EU's first feline case of bird flu was cause for concern that people could contract the virus from cats.
|
News
