Mango Sauce offers some analysis on a reason for the spread of avian flu in Thailand. Warning, the post contains some fowl language:
When the whiskey bottle is drained and your farang son-in-law won’t give you any more cash to go whoring, nothing relieves the tedium of upcountry life better than the compelling mix of animal cruelty and illegal gambling to be found at a cock fight.
It’s a brutal contest and the rules are simple. The winner scoops the pot and the loser gets served up in one.
Most injuries sustained are to the head and neck and the feathered fighters are prone to choking on their own blood. To prevent asphyxiation bringing the bout to a premature end, trainers are permitted to clear their birds’ airways - by sucking the goo out with their own mouths.
As noted here previously, Thai officials have said that fighting cocks are more resilient to the virus than farmed chickens and have been noted as potential H5N1 carriers.
Technorati Tags: asia, bird flu, east asia, h5n1, southeast asia, thailand
