Nearly 15,000 chickens have died in Chiayi County's Liuchiao Township in the past week and officials were working to confirm whether the cause of death was bird flu.
According to the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (動植物防檢局), the biggest farm among the three owned 15,000 chickens and the rest of them owned 12,000 chickens separately. However, during the past week, each of them lost approximately 5,000 chickens so farm owners immediately reported to the bureau for help.
In just the past week, each farm lost 5,000 chickens, prompting the owners to report to the bureau.
Bureau officials quarantined the chickens and began an investigation into whether the animals died of bird flu.
The bureau did not identify the farms but said the result of the inspection should be made public within a week.
Bureau Deputy Director-General Yeh Ying (
"We urge local farmers to stay alert for unusual deaths of their animals," Yeh said.
Yeh said officials are also inspecting and have quarantined a farm in Tainan County following a report of chicken deaths there.
"Everything is under control," she said.
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