Bird Culling In Titi Gantung To Be Completed By Tonight

IPOH, March 23 (Bernama) -- More than 7,000 birds, almost 90 per cent of the birds within the 1 kilometer radius from the Titi Gantung Agriculture Complex, in Bota, were culled since Wednesday in efforts to contain the Bird Flu.
The State Agriculture, Agro Based Industry and Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Radzi Manan said the remaining birds in 12 villages and two housing estates within the radius would be culled by tonight.
Titi Gantung and Changkat Legong near Gopeng saw the culling of birds after the H5N1 virus that causes the flu was detected on Wednesday.
In Changkat Legong the culling operations involving 2,000 free-range chickens were completed last night.
Other than the free-range chickens, more than 3,000 broiler chicken, ducks, quail, geese, and turkey at the Titi Gantung Agriculture Institute were also culled.
The two other affected areas are Changkat Tualang and the Ecopark Garden in Bukit Merah Laketown Resort near Taiping where the culling operations were completed.
On more case was confirmed on Wednesday in Taman Panorama, Ipoh, when a carcass of a cattle egret was found but there was no culling conducted except for sampling within a 1km radius.
Kampung Changkat Legong is situated 2.5 kilometers from Changkat Tualang.
Mohd Radzi said the state Veterinary Services Department has been conducting sampling all over the state and information sessions are also being held with the cooperation Village Safety and Development Committee regarding the bird flu.
In the operations at Changkat Tualang and Bukit Merah last week, about 42,000 birds including more than 30,000 ducks, 10,000 broiler and free-range chickens and the 239 exotic birds at Taman Ecopark were culled.