Monks Pray for Souls of Slaughtered Birds

Buddhist monks chanted and prayed as Hong Kong continued its mass slaughter of chickens, ducks and pigeons in an attempt to stamp out avian influenza.

Monks held a ritual to pacify the souls of the birds. About 140,000 were killed Sunday at more than 130 markets in the Chinese territory. The slaughter of 1.2 million birds is expected to take six weeks.

Officials call it a necessary precaution even though the disease has not affected humans. In 1997, six people died and dozens were sickened from a deadly strain of the flu.