Geese to be culled in Germany due to bird flu

Berlin - The news agency dpa reports that around 8 800 geese on two poultry farms will be culled in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein because some of the animals are infected with the bird flu.

Dpa said on Sunday it was not clear yet whether the birds were infected with the H5N8 strain that has been detected in wilds bird across 10 German states since November 8.

Last week, 30 000 chickens were destroyed in Schleswig-Holstein after H5N8 was detected in their enclosure.

Several German states have already ordered farmers to keep their fowl indoors to prevent them picking up the virus, which can easily spread among birds but is not known to infect humans.

The virus has been detected in several European countries.