October 2, 2007
Canada restricts Saskatchewan bird movement
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, or CFIA, has implemented restrictions on the movement of birds, bird products and equipment from within the province of Saskatchewan to outside the province.
The measure is to prevent the spread of avian influenza.
This comes after the CFIA's confirmation last week that a strain of Avian influenza that is not harmful to humans had been confirmed at a large chicken farm in Regina, Saskatchewan.
The restrictions on such movement include all live birds in captivity and bird products such as hatchery eggs, meat products and by-products such as feed, feathers, etc., said Jim Clarke of the CFIA.
But the movement of poultry and eggs purchased from grocery stores remains unrestricted, the CFIA said.
The movement of birds, bird products and farm equipment within the province of Saskatchewan remains unrestricted. The exception to movement in the province is within a 10-kilometer zone of the infected farm.
The CFIA said no birds can be moved out of the province or into the 3-kilometer infected region.
Permits are required to move live birds and hatching eggs from outside of Saskatchewan across the province to other parts of the country, the CFIA said. No restrictions apply to the movement of poultry products and table eggs from outside of Saskatchewan across the province to other parts of the country.
The CFIA also said that as a precaution, a non-commercial backyard flock located in the three-kilometre area around the infected farm has been placed under quarantine. There have no signs of illness in the flock, and test results from samples taken from this flock will determine the next steps, the CFIA said.
Surveillance of premises within the three-kilometre and 10-kilometre areas around the index farm is underway. The CFIA will also conduct a comprehensive trace-out investigation associated with all recent movement of birds, bird products, vehicles or equipment from the infected farm.
