April 5, 2006

Vietnam to cull smuggled poultry to prevent bird flu

Health Authorities in Vietnam warned they would destroy all smuggled fowls and related products without compensation for their owners or transporters.

The People's Committees of 14 northern and southern cities and provinces will be working together with relevant agencies to curb the smuggling of poultry and related products, a government spokesman said.

Earlier, the government ordered local governments and ministries to step up the monitoring of bird flu and accelerating the vaccination. Health authorities have noted that some provinces have become lax in their monitoring of the disease as there had been no bird flu outbreaks for the past three months.

Last year, bird flu hit 44 cities and provinces of Vietnam, leading to the culling of nearly 4.8 million poultry and causing losses of almost VND100 billion (US$6.3 million).