930,000 chicken to be culled in Japan after bird flu outbreak

The Agriculture Ministry in Japan confirmed that approximately 930,000 chickens will be culled on Monday in Ibaraki prefecture as a result of the outbreak of bird flu.

Culling is the process by which animals are usually selected to be killed due to a certain unwanted characteristic. This comes after authorities stumbled upon deceased chickens in the area and following further genetic analysis, the presence of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza was discovered. Since the past fall, it marked the 56th case. 

Back in 2022, 9.98 million chickens were culled in Japan according to local media and referencing the Agriculture Ministry, as opposed to the 9.87 million birds that were culled in 2020. The export of chickens and eggs in November outside the specified 10-kilometer zone was prohibited. Japan has already recorded bird flu outbreaks in the prefectures, in addition to Kagawa and the island of Hokkaido. 

Highly contagious, the bird flu virus can cause deaths among birds due to the presence of influenza. More than a third of prefectures have been impacted, and approximately 10 million chickens have been killed in more than 50 farms.

Human infections of zoonotic, or animal-borne, influenzas are "primarily acquired through direct contact with infected animals or contaminated environments, but do not result in the efficient transmission of these viruses between people", according to the World Health Organization.