The central government will compensate farmers whose fowls are killed in order to control the spread of bird flu, the ministries of finance and agriculture announced Monday.

The government ordered the slaughter of all the poultry in affected areas with a three-km radius right after the outbreak of the epidemic, and will provide financial assistance for that. The local governments will soon work out applicable criteria for individual cases, said government officials.

Poultry in an affected area with a radius of five km must be vaccinated, which will also be paid for by the government. The cost of vaccinations in other areas will be shared by the government and farmers. The central government will give priority to the central and western parts of the nation, according to official sources.

The Ministry of Finance has already allocated the first batch of funds for some affected areas.

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2004)