March 22, 2006

 

Vietnam cracks down on smuggled poultry from China

 

Vietnam has stepped up efforts to prevent the smuggling of poultry from China in a bid to prevent bird flu from re-infecting domestic flocks, officials and state-controlled media reported Wednesday (Mar 22).

 

Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat said that poultry smuggled from China is a "direct threat" to Vietnam.

 

"Due to huge differences in the price of poultry domestically and that in China, the smuggling of poultry across the border has been very active," Phat said,

 

 "This is a direct threat and it must be prevented at any price," he added.

 

Vietnam has reported no bird flu outbreaks in poultry over the past three months and no human infections since November 2005.

 

Phat urged the authorities in the four northern border provinces, considered major consumers of smuggled poultry, to crackdown on places selling illegal poultry. The minister also said several government teams will be set up this week to inspect the smuggling situation.

 

Last week, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai ordered customs officials, market inspectors and border guards to clamp down on cross-border trade of poultry and called for severe punishment of anyone caught smuggling birds into the country.

 

Meanwhile, authorities in northern Lang Son province bordering China confiscated and destroyed 10 tonnes of chickens smuggled in from China over the past two weeks, said Do Van Duoc, director of provincial bureau of animal health.

 

Duoc said the number of provincial border guards, police, market inspectors and animal health bureaus has been increased to try to prevent the smuggling of poultry from China.

 

"The smuggling appeared to have slowed down in the last two days, but we must not relax our vigilance," he said.

 

Phat said he would ask the prime minister to allocate extra stipends for those involved in stopping the illegal trade.

 

Bird flu has killed at least 103 people--nearly half in Vietnam--since the H5N1 virus began ravaging poultry stocks in late 2003, according to the World Health Organization.