Images of the culling of birds in Turkey, which is currently fighting the spread of bird flu, is angering animal rights activists. Live chickens and other birds fidget wildly as they are tossed into sacks carelessly by workers wearing white protective suits -- the birds are thrown into hastily dug graves and sand is poured over them. Voila. Problem solved.

Is it a lack of emotion on the part of workers or simply the general hectic atmosphere that has accompanied Turkey's effort to stop the spread of avian flu? Regardless, animal rights groups and some European politicians are upset.

If it were currently a member of the European Union, the way in which Ankara has been handling poultry would be illegal and punishable. Since 1993, an EU law has been on the books that orders that animals be spared of any "unnecessary pain or suffering" during their keeping and slaughter and also in cases of culling after an outbreak of disease.

Renate Sommer, a German member of the European Parliament from the conservative Christian Democratic Union, said Turkey's recent handling of poultry following the outbreak confirmed her view "that Turkey hasn't yet arrived in modern times." Michael Mann, the European Commission's spokesman for agricultural issues also lamented the way Turkey has treated the birds. "At every international forum, the EU is pushing the rest of the world to adopt its animal protection standards," he said. But the EU hasn't gotten very far, he said. Most countries either observe their own laws when it comes to slaughtering animals during disease outbreaks -- or they have none at all.