As if Bird Flu weren't bad enough

Police siren scares chickens to death

A farmer received compensation from local police recently for the death of 35 chickens frightened by the noise of a police wagon's siren in Huxian County, Shaanxi Province, while another 400 who died later were not covered by the compensation, reports Prosecution Daily.

Police were repairing a wagon and sounded a siren only 10 metres away from Tian's chicken farm lat at night last December. Some 35 chickens raised by Tian were killed immediately, being trampled by other chickens in a panic and approximately 400 died later.

Tian asked for 3,600 Yuan (US $433) in compensation but police paid him only 315 Yuan (US $38) for the death of the 35 chickens. They said there was no evidence proving that the later deaths of other chickens were caused by the horn.