The Pacific Northwestern population was nothing special, and were confused when a helicopter, with several loud speakers connected to it.
"Hello ladies and gentlemen! You'll be happy to know you are about to save the world!" Came a jovial male voice. "Who I am doesn't really matter, but what does matter is what's already happened to you. Last week, you entire town was infected with a nano-virus, and the incubation period is about to end. You see, you're all about to be turned into humanoid animals. You'll basically turn into beasts that go on two legs and have thumbs and all your intelligence directed towards serving your new instincts.
"Your town was chosen to random, we had a betting pool going on who was gonna get it. I betted 100 bucks on Los Angelas, so sucks to be me too I guess!
"Oh! And by the way! If you were hoping this mutant virus would suddenly give your animals human intelligence or make them as humanoid as you're about to become animals... sorry. The army actually wanted to use it for that purpose first, they tried to fix it, a lot, but the animals under any and all circumstances simply began bleeding from their ears, eyes, noses, mouths, and dying mercifully quick deaths."
"MISTER FLUFFY!!!" A little girl's agonized scream was heard as her beloved pet met its end as the virus began to take hold.
"So yeah... no animals are being uplifted in this show, sorry, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. The good news is the that nano-virus had a pre-set limit, so as soon as you're all properly mutated, it'll automatically self destruct, and any that go beyond the limits of the town will automatically self destruct, and after a set time, will automatically self destruct, so we don't need to worry about wiping out all animal life on the planet.
"And I know there are gonna be animals rights groups that are gonna want anyone connected to this dead, regardless that they'd be all dead if not for this. Which is why me and my buddies finished the ancestral samurai sakabu ritual an hour ago and took time sensitive poison! There's gonna be no one for you to take revenge on, no one to avenge against.
"Now I'm sure you're all wondering what the entire POINT of all this is. The truth of the matter is jokingly simple! Not only are you about to become the planet's most popular unscripted reality/nature show, thanks to insect sized camera drones with telescopic cameras. But you've also guaranteed an agreement for the mutual disarmament of all atomic weapons on the planet.
"It had been calculated that your population is large enough to be self sustaining. Enough of you will become prey anthro-animals to sustain the predator population. Now for those of you planning on ganging up on the predators as humans have done since the dawn of time... you aren't gonna be human very soon, and completely new mindsets are gonna take over. So yea, YOU are gonna be the intelligent animals, not your dying house pets, and nice thing like modesty, taboo, are about to go bye bye from your brains.
Your species will be limited to mammals, since they have the blood system needed to sustain a sapient brain. Oh, and you may or may forget about ever having been human, or your existence before this, the lab boys aren't sure about that one.
Plus the predators gonna be the only population control you the prey have got, while the prey are about to be the only food you the predator are gonna get, so be nice to each other okay?
"The barrier about to come over your population center and the surrounding areas has no off switch and is self sustaining, don't worry you won't suffocate, don't worry we planned all this. But you won't be seeing Disney Land again, ever. Sorry about that. Go ahead and hate me as much you want, I'll be dead in about, oh! Thirty minutes! I have to wrap this up before I lose my motor functions!
The copter flew out, the barrier went up, and the pilot lived just long enough to fall on his ancestral sword and be beheaded by his second.
Meanwhile inside the barrier, the people, every last man, woman, and child, rapidly began to mutate into something that went on two legs and had thumbs, but couldn't be called human.
The insect sized camera drones (capable of making more of themselves, programmed to keep their own 'population' steady and constant), did broadcast it all.