The Korea Herald

피터빈트

Migratory birds blamed for AI

By Lim Jeong-yeo

Published : Nov. 21, 2016 - 17:37

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Poultry farmers of Maengdong-myeon, Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province blamed migratory bird droppings for the outbreak of avian influenza, Monday.

Local wire service quoted a heartbroken 55-year-old farmer who claimed to have done everything in his power and the County’s in order to prevent the yearly outbreak.

Ducks are buried alived on Monday from a poultry farm found to be AI-positive in Maengdong-myeon, Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province. (Yonhap) Ducks are buried alived on Monday from a poultry farm found to be AI-positive in Maengdong-myeon, Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province. (Yonhap)

All poultry farms in the area had been fumigated and closely watched for unnatural symptoms.

“But what’s to be done about the migratory birds?” the farmer lamented, “It’s not like we can make them hold in feces as they fly over.”

Some 140,000 poultry were buried alive Monday to contain further spread of the disease.

The affected farmers will have to wait roughly 6 months to restart rearing poultry.

The Korean government had declared itself bird flu-free this August, following five months without an AI outbreak.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)