A bird flu outbreak in Bulgaria has spread to at least 26 farms, the Agriculture Ministry said, nearly double the figure announced on Dec. 30. A nation-wide ban on hunting of game birds would take immediate effect and a mass cull of birds would be launched in a bid to contain the outbreak, the ministry said in a statement. “By Thursday, the veterinary authorities will cull more than 110,000 birds, mainly ducks,” Food Safety Agency spokesman Martin Radev told Reuters.