20 big cats die of bird flu in Washington state sanctuary: ‘It’s devastating’

Four cougars. Four bobcats. Two lynx. Even a Bengal tiger.

Bird flu has taken a terrible toll at the Wild Felid Advocacy Center, a sanctuary for wildcats and their hybrids on Harstine Island, Washington, killing 20 cats — half the animals in its care.

“The only thing I can compare it to, as a veteran, is being in a war zone,” director Mark Mathews said in an interview Tuesday. The sanctuary is usually open for tours, but because of the disease outbreak it is closed. The animals on-site are in quarantine, and no new animals are being accepted…

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