November 23, 2020

850,000 chickens to be culled in Kagawa, Japan following bird flu outbreak

The Kagawa, Japan local government said they will cull 850,000 chickens at two poultry farms in the prefecture after bird flu was detected there, Reuters reported.

This is the sixth and seventh bird flu cases in Kagawa prefecture, and the biggest culling of poultry since bird flu was detected in Japan earlier this month.

Chickens at both farms, located in Mitoyo city, tested positive for H5 bird flu after the farms reported increased number of dead chickens to the prefectural government.

460,000 chickens have been culled so far from the past four cases, according to a local government official.

The Japan Agriculture Ministry said the country last reported a bird flu outbreak in January 2018. At the time, 91,000 chickens were culled at a Sanuki city, Kagawa prefecture farm after H5N6 bird flu was detected there.

-      Reuters