February 16, 2006

Sweden bans outdoor poultry on bird flu fears

The Swedish Board of Agriculture, SVJ, Wednesday said it had re-introduced measures to keep all commercial poultry indoors following the discovery of bird flu in two swans in northern Germany.

SVJ chief vet Leif Denneberg said officials are attending meetings Wednesday and further restrictions could be introduced shortly.

Sweden launched a temporary ban on keeping poultry outdoors in October, after the discovery of bird flu south of Moscow. However, the ban was lifted in December as it was deemed unlikely that the virus would reach Sweden before the start of bird migration in the spring.

In the Netherlands, agriculture minister Cees Veerman has also ordered birds to be kept indoors from Feb 20, ahead of a ban which was scheduled to go into effect in March.