Bird flu causes shuttlecock price hike

Badminton lovers will need to bring extra cash for their next visit to the sporting goods store.

Thanks to the bird flu, millions of Chinese geese have been slaughtered to prevent the spread of the disease, resulting in a shortage of the fine feathers used to make the badminton projectiles.

Only the thickest, heaviest goose feathers from northern China are used to make premium shuttlecocks. Sometimes as few as two feathers per goose make the final cut.
The sport is popular among some Chinese immigrants in Southern California. The region is home to some of the best players in the nation.

"Everybody complains now, 'What's wrong with the shuttle?'" said Dan Chien of El Monte, Calif. "It was goose feather, but now it feels almost like duck."

Shuttlecock makers are settling for substandard feathers, and the sport's devotees in Southern California said the new birdies aren't the same.

Prices went up 25 percent in recent months, and top-of-the-line shuttlecocks have been going for $25 a dozen as companies compete for limited feathers and players hoard the best birdies.

"If bird flu becomes pandemic, shuttlecock prices could become twofold or threefold higher," said Ahmad Bakar, director of shuttlecock seller Pacific Sports Private Ltd.