Penang bird park culls fowl as precaution

Star: PENANG: Penang Bird Park officers in Seberang Jaya here have slaughtered the few chickens, ducks and geese in the premises.
This follows the discovery of bird flu cases at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort and at Kampung Changkat Tualang in Perak.
Park director Dr Gino H.C. Ooi said that although the park's 20 chickens, five ducks and seven geese were free from the virus, the management took the decision to slaughter the birds.
He said the rest of the park's attractions were wild birds and unlikely to be at risk.
“We strongly believe that the virus does not affect wild birds because they have a natural immunity against the H5N1 avian flu strain,” he said.
“Poultry is more susceptible because of inbreeding. To produce chickens that can lay more eggs or have leaner meat, poultry breeders practise inbreeding. But this causes the birds to have a weaker immune system.”
He added that recent cases of mute swans (Cygnus olor) in Europe contracting the H5N1 avian flu virus were also a result of inbreeding.
The park has over 2,500 birds of 300 different species, both local and those found around the globe.
At the Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, it was business as usual.
However, the 22 staff members at the resort's Ecopark had been asked to undergo medical check ups, said general manager Calvin Ho.
He said the resort’s veterinarian had been sending samples to the Veterinary Research Institute on a regular basis following the bird flu outbreak in Gombak, Selangor, in late February.
“We believe the virus might have originated from the droppings of migratory birds as the resort is located along their flight path,” he said.