Bird flu: Chicks buried alive
2005-10-24 12:00
Tirana - Thousands of chickens from Greece that had been destined for Albania were buried alive on the Albanian side of the border between the two countries amid fears that they could carry bird flu, Albanian television reported on Thursday.
About 3 600 chickens were kept for at least five days in a truck at Kakavija, near the border, before they were thrown into a huge hole on Wednesday and buried with the help of a bulldozer.
Television showed footage of the scene.
Albanian health experts said, however, that the birds should have been disinfected before being buried.
The Albanian farming ministry stopped the shipment at the border despite protests by their owner and documents certifying that the chickens did not carry the disease.
The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, said on Thursday in Brussels that a preliminary test on a suspected case from Greece had proved negative for the H5 avian flu virus, although it said further tests were required.
Albania's biggest egg and chicken plant, Floryhen, said on Thursday that sales of the two products had dropped up to 20% after fears over chicken flu.