By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

Police said they will strengthen crackdowns on smugglers of poultry in the region infected by bird flu and those ignoring the authorities' preventive measures to keep the spreading avian influenza under control.

The National Police Agency said Tuesday that those violating anti-bird flu measures will be fined up to 15 million won ($15,000) or face up to three years in prison.

This move came after a series of reports that some culled poultry and those waiting to be killed were smuggled out and illegally traded in conventional markets. The government sees that these dealings could easily transmit the deadly virus to other regions.

Last Wednesday, police arrested six poultry dealers in North Jeolla Province on charges of circulating bird-flu infected chickens and ducks.

According to police, some 2,000 affected ducks were illegally smuggled out to feed dogs and a dealer sold 740 questionable chickens to retailers without the government's permission. In another case, more than 10,000 chicks that were raised at a virus-affected chicken farm were also smuggled out.

The government's measures against the epidemic done in a cursory manner are blamed for having contributed to the spread.

Seoul Metropolitan Government Sunday said it completed the culling of an estimated 15,000 chickens and ducks raised in the capital.

But it was not that difficult to see chickens and ducks in cages on the outskirts of Seoul.

A citizen residing in Guro-gu, western Seoul, said ``I found dozens of hens only 100 meters away from the place where slaughtered poultry was buried.''

The citizen said several ward office officials swept the location for days but failed to learn about the remaining chickens.

``We completed the mission today by killing more than 16,600 birds in Seoul,'' Kim Yun-kyu, Seoul government official in charge of the slaughter, told The Korea Times. ``Remaining poultry in 100-square-meter area or under facilities is not subject to obligatory report to the government. Therefore, we will continue gathering information about remaining poultry.''

Since the first outbreak of bird flu this year, more than 6.6 million birds have been culled with 55 billion won paid in compensation.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr