August 4, 2015

UK poultry sector rocked by export bans over avian flu outbreak

An avian influenza outbreak in Lancashire, northwest England, had led to a severe loss of export opportunities for the UK's poultry industry.

As a result of the incident which occurred at an egg farm in July this year, numerous countries, including Australia, Japan, Kenya, Singapore, South Africa and St Vincent, had suspended the import of poultry from the UK, Defra said.

The UAE will ban only poultry that originates from England. A smaller scale restriction, focusing on Lancashire alone, is imposed by Hong Kong, Turkey and Russia.

36,000 birds died from the outbreak while another 144,000 were culled.   

"We are working closely with veterinary authorities across the world to limit the trade impact and reopen export routes as soon as possible," said a Defra spokesman.