12,000 ducks culled in Gochang due to bird flu fears

By Kim Bo-eun

A total of 12,000 ducks in the southwestern city of Gochang in North Jeolla Province were culled over the weekend after the H5 strain of avian influenza was detected at a local poultry farm there.

The H5 strain detected from the Gochang farm was proven highly pathogenic.

Local authorities have dispatched an epidemics prevention team, placed movement control orders and set up disinfection bases in the area.

According to local authorities, there are no poultry farms within a 500 meter radius of the farm. Authorities have ordered preventative measures for five farms with 374,000 chickens within a three kilometer radius.

There have been no additional reports of suspected cases of bird flu, they said.

However, authorities are keeping their guard up because the farm is 250 meters away from Dongrim Reservoir, a habitat for migratory birds.

Around 200,000 migratory birds including ducks spend the winter at the reservoir from December through February, according to reports.

The bird flu detection comes after five months in North Jeolla Province, where there were positive tests at a small farm in the county of Sunchang raising eight chickens in June.