May 30, 2006

Romania plans fine on poultry farms that flout health rules

Romania's premier called Monday (May 29) for fines to be imposed on poultry farms that fail to respect regulations protecting public health, as authorities said the number of H5N1 bird flu outbreaks climbed to 115 in the country, an official said.

Of 160 poultry farms inspected nationwide in recent days, 51 had not complied with health and hygiene rules, according to government spokeswoman Oana Marinescu speaking after a meeting of the National Centre to Coordinate Bird Flu, which is dealing with the latest bird flu crisis.

"The prime minister (Calin Popescu Tariceanu) has called on animal health authorities to make no concessions (with handing out fines) during checks, because this could turn against public health interests," she told reporters.

Fines for hygiene irregularities could reach the equivalent of EUR1,500 for industrial farms, agriculture ministry spokesman Adrian Tibu said. Authorities can close down farms for serious public health violations, he

said.

Authorities have reported cases of H5N1 in 115 communities in recent weeks after farms in the central town of Codlea illegally sold live poultry to small farmers in nearby areas, facilitating the spread of the lethal virus.

Most outbreaks of H5N1 were confirmed near Codlea, but some occurred on the edges of Bucharest.

One million birds had been culled in recent weeks, of which more than half were from industrial farms in Codlea, authorities said.