Hong Kong orders chicken cull as bird flu alert raised
Hong Kong is culling 17,000 chickens after three birds were confirmed to have died from the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in the past week.
The government has banned imports and the sale of live chickens for three weeks after an infected chicken carcass was found at a wholesale market on Tuesday.
It has also raised the city's flu alert system to "serious".
Two wild birds were also found to have died of the the virus.
The government said it was tracing the source of the chicken carcass, but it was not clear whether the chicken came from a local farm or was imported.
"I understand that it will cause inconvenience to the public, and the poultry trade will also encounter losses," said Hong Kong's secretary for food and health, York Chow.
"However, to safeguard public health, we need to adopt decisive and effective measures to prevent and control the spread of the virus."
On Tuesday, a dead Oriental magpie found at a secondary school tested positive for bird flu.
Another secondary school closed for a day for disinfection last Friday after a dead black-headed gull was found with the virus.
Hong Kong is quick to take action against infectious diseases after an outbreak of the deadly respiratory disease SARS in 2003 killed 300 people in the city and a further 500 worldwide.
In 2009, 300 people were placed under quarantine at a Hong Kong hotel after a guest contracted swine flu.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16280698
Showing posts with label chicken cull. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken cull. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Chicken cull planned near Guernsey's Vale Castle
Up to 150 chickens living near Guernsey's Vale Castle are to be culled unless their owners claim them.
The Commerce and Employment Department said it had ordered the birds to be killed for reasons of traffic safety and to prevent the spread of disease.
Owners wanting to claim the birds have been given until 25 August, when the cull is due to begin.
Sue Vidamour, of Promoting Animal Welfare, said: "I think it's necessary. I'm concerned as to how they'll do it."
'Dumping ground'
She said previous culling attempts by the department had been carried out using "traps that don't work".
A spokesperson for Commerce and Employment told BBC Guernsey that the license it was issuing for the cull "requires that the birds will be culled by a professional pest control company using humane methods".
In 2005, more than 200 chickens were removed from the site just to the north of the castle.
But Ms Vidamour said the problem had recurred because of islanders disposing of the birds.
"It's a well known dumping ground for cockerels," she said.
"These particular birds breed very well... so they increase in number quite quickly."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-14504014
The Commerce and Employment Department said it had ordered the birds to be killed for reasons of traffic safety and to prevent the spread of disease.
Owners wanting to claim the birds have been given until 25 August, when the cull is due to begin.
Sue Vidamour, of Promoting Animal Welfare, said: "I think it's necessary. I'm concerned as to how they'll do it."
'Dumping ground'
She said previous culling attempts by the department had been carried out using "traps that don't work".
A spokesperson for Commerce and Employment told BBC Guernsey that the license it was issuing for the cull "requires that the birds will be culled by a professional pest control company using humane methods".
In 2005, more than 200 chickens were removed from the site just to the north of the castle.
But Ms Vidamour said the problem had recurred because of islanders disposing of the birds.
"It's a well known dumping ground for cockerels," she said.
"These particular birds breed very well... so they increase in number quite quickly."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-14504014
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