March 30, 2007

Kuwait to cull 1.1 million chickens in commercial farms

Kuwait has ordered the culling of about 1.1 million chickens in a bid to stem an outbreak of bird flu, an official said Thursday (Mar 29).

Chickens belonging to three major companies would be culled over the next few days, the head of the agriculture authority, Jassem al-Bader, told As-Siyassah newspaper.

The farms are located in Wafra, on the Saudi border, where most of the 57 cases of H5N1 virus have been detected since the outbreak in February.

Authorities have culled close to 200,000 birds since the beginning of the fresh outbreak.