Bird flu fears see 'le rugby coq' axed

PARIS - One of the endearing rituals of international rugby - the releasing of the cockerel, France's national symbol, at a French test match - is under threat.

Since 1911, supporters of les Bleus have made it a tradition to smuggle cocks into the stadium and let them out on the pitch, providing laughs for the crowd as police and stewards form a ruck to round up the feisty birds.

But the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among wild birds in Europe, with fears that it could spread to poultry, has prompted this year's Six Nations tournament to order a cockerel clampdown.

Stewards at Saturday's France-Italy match were told to be zealous about searching clothing and bags to ensure no one illicitly brings a Gallus gallus into Paris' Stade de France.

Only one cock was permitted, a mascot called Felicien that is allowed because it can cope with the noise.

"The guy who owns it comes to every match," said stadium spokesman Laurent Chmiel. "He brings the cock in a cage and opens it a few minutes before the match so that everyone can see it. He holds up the bird like a trophy and then puts it away again. It's a tradition."

A tough anti-rooster message has gone out from the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which will host the Wales-France match this month.

"We don't allow access for livestock in the stadium" is the blunt instruction from its chief executive, Paul Sergeant.

No one in Europe has fallen sick with the bird disease, and it is not illegal to transport a live cock across EU borders provided it is not from a flu-affected area. But if, as in Asia, the bird flu scare in Europe is prolonged, the feathery sideshow in international rugby may have had its day.

"Cockerels should in principle be banned from rugby matches, but at the end of the day it is up to the organisers," said French agriculture ministry spokeswoman Helene Brial.

Freda Scott-Park, president of the British Veterinary Association, is firm: "Any smuggled bird is a risk. Unless the bird is ill, it doesn't pose a huge risk, but we cannot have things like this happening."