Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture decided to destroy 400 mute swans, black swans and ducks that had been kept on a lake in Tokiwa Park, which is a few miles away from where my son and I live, when the H5 strain of the bird flu was detected in a black swan.
City officials began work to kill the birds on Wednesday night.
Ube Mayor Kimiko Kubota says it was a pity to lose something so valuable and adored by the citizens, but that she hopes people will understand they had no choice if they were to prevent the spread of the virus.
-SOURCE AND PHOTOS COURTESY OF NHK WORLD NEWS AND CHUGOKU SHIMBUN.
Pia in Japan 