Dutch Slaughter 190K Ducks Thanks to Bird Flu

Six farms in the Netherlands on Saturday were the wrong places at the wrong time for some 190,000 ducks who were slaughtered as avian flu sweeps Europe, reports Reuters, with outbreaks now reported in Denmark, Finland, Germany, and Sweden. The outbreaks have largely been on the H5N8 strain, though Dutch officials didn't specify which strain was found at the farm in the village of Biddinghuizen, some 40 miles from Amsterdam. The cull was enacted at four other farms owned by the same company, as well as another located less than a mile from the first site. Authorities have banned the transportation of poultry within six miles, notes the BBC, which also has a primer on avian flu. (More avian flu stories.)