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[Poppy The Monkey]

Flu panic hits cats, dogs - and Disney
From Adam Sage in Paris[/b]

DISNEYLAND PARIS was accused yesterday of hiding a dead swan as panic over bird flu spread across Europe.

The allegations, angrily denied by the resort, were made by trade unions who said managers had hushed up the discovery to avoid scaring off visitors. The row came amid what experts are describing as an avian flu psychosis after the arrival of the H5N1 virus.

In France, police officers have been sent to shoot wild ducks, the fire service has been inundated with requests to pick up dead pigeons, and cockerels banned from fighting are allegedly expiring from apoplexy.

The scare reached Disneyland when two unions, the French Democratic Workers Confederation and Workers' Force, said staff has seen a dead swan in the adventure park.

Although there was no suggestion the swan had fallen victim to bird flu — or even proof that it had actually existed — the report featured prominently on the radio news.

The resort, which attracts 12 million visitors a year, denounced the claims as "unacceptable lies." A spokesman said the only birds found dead on the site were a sparrow and pigeon, which had succumbed to natural causes. Disneyland accused unions of making up the swan scare story to put pressure on management during wage negotiations.




From the Times online //http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2076346,00.html[/url]