# 1981
While it may seem incomprehensible to most of us that anyone would smuggle potentially infected chickens out of a quarantine zone, it happens frequently in places like India, Bangladesh, and now it seems, in South Korea.
This from the Korea Times.
Police Will Step Up Fight Against Poultry Smugglers
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Police said they will strengthen crackdowns on smugglers of poultry in the region infected by bird flu and those ignoring the authorities' preventive measures to keep the spreading avian influenza under control.
The National Police Agency said Tuesday that those violating anti-bird flu measures will be fined up to 15 million won ($15,000) or face up to three years in prison.
This move came after a series of reports that some culled poultry and those waiting to be killed were smuggled out and illegally traded in conventional markets. The government sees that these dealings could easily transmit the deadly virus to other regions.
Last Wednesday, police arrested six poultry dealers in North Jeolla Province on charges of circulating bird-flu infected chickens and ducks.
According to police, some 2,000 affected ducks were illegally smuggled out to feed dogs and a dealer sold 740 questionable chickens to retailers without the government's permission. In another case, more than 10,000 chicks that were raised at a virus-affected chicken farm were also smuggled out.
The government's measures against the epidemic done in a cursory manner are blamed for having contributed to the spread.
