Mass Cullings: The American Way

So, you may ask yourself, if high-path H5N1 enters the States' poultry supply, how are we going to kill all those birds?

Well like most answers to those types of questions, it involves a deadly foam. Thanks to ABC news for this one:

"WASHINGTON -- The government has approved the use of firefighting foam to kill chickens quickly if there is an outbreak of deadly bird flu in commercial poultry.

The Agriculture Department says water-based foam can be an alternative to carbon dioxide, which has traditionally been used to quickly kill large quantities of birds.

Gassing involves more workers and exposes them to potentially infected birds, and it can be difficult to maintain a high enough concentration of gas to kill the bird, according to the department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Foam can be used to suffocate floor-reared flocks -- chickens and turkeys raised primarily for meat -- to contain deadly bird flu, said APHIS spokeswoman Karen Eggert. Foam also can be used in outbreaks of rapidly spreading disease such as Exotic Newcastle, a fatal respiratory virus in birds, when state or federal officials deem it necessary.

And it can be used when birds are in structurally unsound buildings, such as a building damaged by a hurricane or other natural disaster, she said.

Animal health officials in North Carolina and Delaware researched use of the foam to kill chickens quickly."

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I hear it also makes a great packing material and fire-retardant.