KUWAIT CITY (AFP) - Falcons illegally imported into Kuwait may have been the cause of an outbreak of bird flu that has forced authorities to cull about two million chickens, MPs charged on Tuesday.

During a special debate, a number of lawmakers submitted official documents showing that several falcon shipments for royals and influential people were imported without the strict quarantine procedures.

The head of the government's agriculture authority, Jassem al-Bader, denied the allegations, insisting that all the imported falcons were properly tested and found healthy.

But he admitted that a total ban on bird imports imposed in 2005 following the discovery of the first bird flu case in Kuwait was eased in July 2006 to allow the import of falcons.

Bader said that the last falcon shipment allowed was in late 2006.

"Lifting the ban on falcons was a catastrophe. Why were they exempted from the ban despite warnings by doctors?" countered Islamist MP Jamaan al-Harbash.

Opposition MP Mussallam al-Barrak charged that some of the major imports belonged to senior members of the ruling Al-Sabah family, while several other lawmakers demanded a parliamentary probe.

MPs decided to ask the parliament's health committee to study the situation and report back to the house.

Kuwait reported the outbreak on February 25 when it announced that 20 birds, including 18 falcons, had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu.

Health Minister Maasouma al-Mubarak told the house that so far 132 birds were detected with avian flu and that authorities have culled about two million birds, a majority of them chickens in seven commercial poultry farms.

But she said that no human case had been detected, and the government would pay compensation for culled poultry.

In November 2005, the oil-rich Gulf emirate announced the first case of a bird infected with the H5N1 strain -- a flamingo at a seaside villa.

The H5N1 strain, the most aggressive form of the disease, has killed about 170 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation, and seen millions of birds destroyed.

H5N1 is an avian influenza subtype with pandemic potential, since it might ultimately adapt into a strain that is contagious among humans.