Bird flu reaches UK, mass slaughtering of chicken looming

London (October 22, 2005) – The deadly dangerous bird flu continues its invasion of Europe. After incidents in Turkey, Romania, Greece, Russia and most recently in Croatia, this avian influenza has killed the first parrot in the UK using its lethal H5N1 virus. In light of the looming pandemic, the European Union and its member states are considering several drastic measures to combat the outbreak. Russia has slaughtered all 3000 poultry and quarantined the infected village of Yandoka, south of Moscow. Germany has issued a “Ausgehverbot” for all German chickens, confining all live poultry to their pens. In France, where chicken is best known as Coq Gaullois or Gallic Rooster, the French government rejects any action that harms “our national symbol.” Only when “the UN agrees on an unanimous Security Council resolution” in this direction, “we will reconsider our position,” French president Chirac said in a televised speech to the Gallic nation this morning.