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