Firefighters begin culling 230,000 hens after new bird flu outbreak

Firefighters and veterinarians have begun culling laying hens at a large commercial poultry farm in Kosičky, in the Hradec Králové region, where the latest outbreak of bird flu was confirmed late last week. It will be the second-largest cull in the Czech Republic linked to the virus with about 100 professional firefighters working on the site every day. The operation is expected to last for five to seven days. The Kosičky poultry farm houses around 230,000 laying hens.