Culling of birds, particularly poultry, began at Palathingal near Parappanangadi on Saturday morning in the wake of the detection of avian flu in the region.
Ten rapid response teams (RRTs) of the State Animal Husbandry Department supported by health and civic officials launched the drive to cull about 4,000 birds kept within one kilometer area from Palathingal.
A few hundreds of poultry were culled methodically as per the bird flu management protocol within the first four hours on Saturday. Animal Husbandry officials said that the culling would continue for two more days.