October 23, 2006

Ducks in Central Vietnam slaughtered

Some 4,000 ducks suspected to have contracted an unidentified disease were slaughtered in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, the local animal health department reported.

Local authorities culled the 70-day-old birds in Lam Dong's Duc Trong District as they were found to be bloated, immobile, thiamine deficient, had tearing eyes and discharging white feces.  The department also discovered the ducks were not vaccinated.

The province already lost 1,200 birds of which three hundred of them died in just one day.

The animal department conducted tests of the ducks but still could not identify the disease.

The owner of the flock, Huynh Ngoc Thanh, admitted buying the newly-born ducks in Ho Chi Minh City.