September 9, 2004

South Africa Partly Lifts Poultry Export Ban

South Africa has partially lifted the ban on poultry exports. However, only dealers and companies approved by the South African authorities would be allowed to export to other countries.

South Africa has also ruled out the wholesale reopening of its borders for poultry exports. The ban was slapped in July for a period of 30 days and was to run till the end of last month.

The export restriction had followed the discovery of bird flu among ostriches in the Eastern Cape, which led to the culling of over 30,000 of the birds.

Surveillance across South Africa concluded that the highly contagious bird flu, primarily found in chickens and turkeys, did not spread to other areas.