January 19, 2004

Taiwan Culls 35,000 Chickens

35,000 chickens were culled in a farm in Chiayi County in Taiwan's second mass slaughter of poultry following the bird flu outbreak. The chickens were infected with the less dangerous bird flu strain.

"The prevention of virus outbreaks is like a war," council vice-chairman Hu Fu-hsiung said. "The war has not come yet, but we are preparing for it."

Poultry farms within about a kilometre of the infected farm also were checked for signs of the flu, but nothing was found, officials said.

With chicken consumption expected to rise during the Lunar New Year holiday - from Jan. 21 to Jan. 26 - Hu said birds for sale on the market were safe to eat, although he advised consumers to cook the meat well.

Hong Kong and Japan already have moved to bar imports of poultry and live birds from Taiwan.