February 21, 2007

Philippines bans bird, poultry imports from UK

The Philippines ordered a temporary ban on all imports of live birds and poultry products from Britain after a bird flu outbreak there, officials said Tuesday (Feb 20).

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the ban took effect Feb 5.

An outbreak earlier this month of the H5N1 strain of bird flu on a farm north-east of London owned by Europe's biggest turkey producer forced the company, Bernard Matthews PLC, to slaughter 159,000 turkeys.

Yap instructed Agriculture Department quarantine officers and inspectors at all major airports and seaports to watch out for travellers who may bring in pet birds, poultry and poultry products from Britain.

The ban covers all domestic and wild birds and their products, including day-old chicks, eggs and semen from Britain, a statement said.

The Philippines has remained free of bird flu since the H5N1 virus re-emerged in Asia in 2003.

The Philippines imports mostly day-old chicks from Britain. In 2006, it imported 64,060 chicks, comprising 7 percent of the country's total chick imports.

Yap earlier issued a similar ban on live bird and poultry imports from Japan and South Korea after the bird flu virus was detected in those countries.