Mr 204
Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park Zoo has started giving COVID-19 vaccinations to 55 animals in their care, the organization said.
“Vaccination is a very common, safe and effective way of protecting animals in human care from a variety of illnesses,” said Dr. Chris Enright, the zoo’s director of veterinary services and animal welfare.
While there has not been a single case of COVID-19 among the animals at Assiniboine Park, other zoos have had some deadly cases, according a press release from the zoo on Tuesday.
Assiniboine is one of a number of accredited facilities in Canada to vaccinate animals against COVID-19.
The animals’ vaccine is made by the New Jersey-based veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis, specifically to protect species who are at a greater risk of contracting the illness, the zoo said.
Animals that have close interactions with their human caregivers are most vulnerable to illness from COVID-19, the press release stated.
Animals receiving the COVID-19 vaccines will include:
- Amur tigers, snow leopards and other cats.
- White-handed gibbons, squirrel monkeys and other primates.
- Camels, goats and llamas.
- Skunks and meerkats.
The vaccinations will be given in two doses, approximately three weeks apart.
View original article here Source
