Dead parrots, the global economy, and Monty Python

How the world works:

The birds, smuggled from the southeast Chinese city of Fuzhou, were found aboard a Panama-registered vessel in the island's central Taichung harbour Friday night, coastguard officials said Saturday.
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A Chinese sailor surnamed Chen told coastguards that he had struck a deal with a local bird shop over the sale of the smuggled birds at around 500 Taiwan dollars (15.1 US) each, but police suspect some crew may have been involved in the illicit trade.
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It was the second time Taiwan has seized birds smuggled from China since coastguards launched a dragnet in August to crack down on the illegal trade.
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Also on Saturday, police raided an illegal chicken slaughter house in Taichung city.

Fuller story? Yahoo! News

Parrot in UK quarantine dies of avian flu: Guardian report.

The parrot, part of a consignment from Surinam in South America, was among birds sharing space in a biosecure unit with another consignment from Taiwan.

Taiwan, again. But in all likelihood the birds originated in China and were smuggled into Taiwan before being shipped to UK where they met the birds from Surinam. Taipei market in Taiwan deserted on fears of bird flu, Taiwan News:

Collecting birds is serious business in Taiwan, where thousands of enthusiasts regularly visit markets, and gamblers bet sizable sums on pigeon races at crowded locales.

If this plays out like the 2003 SARS epidemic did in Hong Kong, and it is a big 'if' because, as yet, there has been no evidence of human-to-human transmission, if the fear starts to cascade, Taipei, Taiwan's capital, will witness people gradually desert schools, universities, shops, restaurants, cinemas, public transport, air travel, work.
In public, most everyone will go around wearing a face mask, and use their keys to punch the numbers on public ATM machines and lift buttons, and stop holding escalator handrails, so as not to touch anything potentially hazardous. On the upside, if you cough people give you a wide berth. That's what happened hereabouts during the SARS episode. Nevermind the morning the rumour swept Hong Kong that the border was going to be closed -- there was an immediate panic run on the supermarkets (very swiftly followed by the government text-messaging everyone to say the story wasn't true.)
May be it's time to re-read Albert Camus' The Plague? Better still, perhaps: Monty Python's Michael Palin and John Cleese Norwegian Blue:

'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker'.
'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies!
'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig!'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisibile!!
THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!!