Government authorities slaughtered thousands of chickens and other fowl kept in backyard farms and in cages in the Indonesian capital Jakarta Sunday, in an attempt to stop the spread of bird-flu virus that has killed at least five people in two weeks. South Jakarta Mayor Syahrul Effendi explained that the culling was part of the government's commitment to free the Indonesian capital from fowl. Before being slaughtered, more than 10,000 fowl were tested for bird flu. The carcasses of healthy birds were returned to the owners to be eaten or sold, while those of infected birds were burned [Tommy: They are being burned alive on TV!] "We will continue with the culling until the end of the month without delay," said Agus Hidayat, a health official at eastern Jakarta mayoralty office. "Depopulation measures will be applied to all non-commercial backyard farms in the capital." Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso had said earlier he was giving city residents until the end of the month to get rid of their backyard chickens, song birds and other fowl before officials launched door-to-door confiscations. Those who comply would receive compensation of about 1 dollar. In West Java district of Garut, more than 100 chickens were slaughtered and burned following the death on Friday of a 19-year-old woman from H5N1 avian-influenza virus. Indonesia is the world's worst-affected country by bird flu with 62 human deaths from 80 cases. Vietnam is second with 42 deaths but has not had a fatality in more than a year. Triggered by rising death toll, the Indonesian government has banned backyard farms in residential areas in nine provinces, placed tight restrictions on the movement and sale of poultry and poultry products, and is preparing more hospitals to treat human cases of the H5N1 avian influenza virus. Backyard poultry population in Indonesia was about 350 million, of which 280 million are in Java - the world's most densely populated island. Of that total, 50 per cent were in Jakarta, and nearby Banten and West Java provinces, said Heri Dharmawan, the secretary-general of the National Chicken Farmers Association. Indonesians commonly earn extra money or provide food for their families by raising chickens in their yards. Health experts say this is one of the ways the H5N1 virus spreads among birds and eventually to humans. Most bird-flu victims globally had direct or indirect contact with sick birds, but scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form easily transmissible among humans, sparking a global pandemic that could kill millions. Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous nation, has come under fire for failing to make adequate efforts to fight avian influenza and has largely failed to follow through on earlier promises to stamp out the virus through mass culls.