<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD>http://english.mti.hu/default.asp?me...&newsid=222474
Birds "ground alive" in cull - paper
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Budapest, July 4 (MTI) - A newspaper in south Hungary reported claims on Tuesday that a poultry processor put live chicks, ducks and geese to the grinder to comply with authority regulations on culling poultry in areas where bird flu has appeared.</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>
Hungarian authorities ordered the culling of some 600,000 birds -- either infected with the deadly H5N1 virus strain or showing symptoms -- as part of protective action to stop the spread of the virus.
Eyewitnesses told local paper Delmagyarorszag that amateur photographs taken at the ATEV plant in Hodmezovasarhely are accurate and some animals were ground while still alive.
Zoltan Seres, who represents Orpheus Animal Protection Association, spoke out against the plant's actions and said torturing animals was against the law.
The factory's managing director Gabor Szabo has refused to comment on the reports. County chief veterinarian officer Sandor Szigeti said EU regulations state that poultry must be choked with gas before being culled. He said he did not believe birds were being ground alive at ATEV and he suspected the reports were libelous.
Farm minister Jozsef Graf said he had not heard of the case but would take action if substandard practices in culling turned out to be true.
No charges have been filed to the police, local police spokeswoman Szilvana Tuczakov told MTI. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Birds "ground alive" in cull - paper
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>Budapest, July 4 (MTI) - A newspaper in south Hungary reported claims on Tuesday that a poultry processor put live chicks, ducks and geese to the grinder to comply with authority regulations on culling poultry in areas where bird flu has appeared.</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>
Hungarian authorities ordered the culling of some 600,000 birds -- either infected with the deadly H5N1 virus strain or showing symptoms -- as part of protective action to stop the spread of the virus.
Eyewitnesses told local paper Delmagyarorszag that amateur photographs taken at the ATEV plant in Hodmezovasarhely are accurate and some animals were ground while still alive.
Zoltan Seres, who represents Orpheus Animal Protection Association, spoke out against the plant's actions and said torturing animals was against the law.
The factory's managing director Gabor Szabo has refused to comment on the reports. County chief veterinarian officer Sandor Szigeti said EU regulations state that poultry must be choked with gas before being culled. He said he did not believe birds were being ground alive at ATEV and he suspected the reports were libelous.
Farm minister Jozsef Graf said he had not heard of the case but would take action if substandard practices in culling turned out to be true.
No charges have been filed to the police, local police spokeswoman Szilvana Tuczakov told MTI. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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