Thai govt to buy, destroy duck eggs

Thai govt to buy, destroy duck eggs

BANGKOK: The government plans to buy about five million duck eggs from farmers and destroy them in a bid to thwart the spread of bird flu, which has devastated poultry stocks and killed 11 people in Thailand this year.

A panel of public health and agriculture officials agreed late Monday to spend 25 million baht (US$605,000) to buy the eggs from small open-air farms near Bangkok, where the virus has been detected before, Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisang said.

The plan would mean that birds from flu outbreak areas are culled "before they are born," helping to prevent the spread of the virus, he said. -- AP