Badminton players in the US have become the latest group to suffer the consequences of bird flu, claiming its spread is fuelling a shortage of top-quality, goose-feather shuttlecocks.They say that bird flu's progress around the globe - and the resultant cull of millions of geese - has dramatically reduced the quantity of feathers available and pushed up the price of the premium shuttlecocks, known as birdies.The price of a tube of a dozen birdies, which is usually about $25 (£13.50), has risen by 25% in the last few months as badminton aficionados began panic-buying. The best birdies, which are made of goose feathers plucked in northern China, bear little resemblance to their cheap plastic cousins. Each is made of 16 hand-selected feathers, of which one goose may yield just two. The feathers are set in a cork base and held together with string and glue....
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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Editor - 22:04:00 07-31-06
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Editor - 18:27:00 07-31-06
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Editor - 18:15:00 07-31-06
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Editor - 18:11:00 07-31-06
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Editor - 18:05:00 07-31-06
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