# 1775
It's been a problem not only in India, but in practically every nation that has had to engage in the culling of people's birds. Poultry is such an important facet of many villager's lives, that they go to extreme measures to hide, and protect, their birds from authorities.
Indian officials are now conducting night time raids to contain the bird flu virus.
India conducts night raids to contain bird flu
Tue Mar 11, 2008 7:52am EDT
By Bappa Majumdar
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Authorities in India's east battling to contain a fresh outbreak of bird flu said they were raiding farms at night to catch chickens and ducks and counter unwilling villagers who have refused to hand over poultry.
Only a month after authorities in West Bengal declared that bird flu was under control, a fresh outbreak was reported from the state's Murshidabad district, where 900 backyard poultry died over the last two weeks.
Some villagers have also let their poultry loose during the day and hide them inside their homes at night, Subir Bhadra, a senior district official said from Murshidabad.
"These are problems we are facing and therefore we have decided to surprise the villagers by conducting night-time raids," Bhadra said by telephone.
"It is working, although villagers are superstitious and seem closely attached to their poultry, which also puts them at a health risk."
Related Post:
Widget by [ Iptek-4u ]