Actress and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has condemned the Egyptian government's plans to slaughter thousands of pigs in the country in the wake of the swine flu epidemic.

Egyptian officials announced on Wednesday that they were ordering the cull of 250,000 pigs in the country to help tackle the spread of the disease, which has gripped the whole world.

But French movie icon Bardot is horrified by the move, and has written to Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in a desperate attempt to halt the mass killings.

She writes, "Taking advantage of the global hysteria over the propagation of 'Mexican' flu, which has nothing to do with animals, in order to launch a campaign to exterminate pigs raised by a destitute section of the population is extremely cowardly."

The health crisis has already claimed the lives of more than 100 people in Mexico City, where the virus is thought to have originated.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)