October 13, 2005

Germany to step up monitoring of poultry imports

Germany would step up monitoring of poultry imports, in its effort to prevent bird flu from entering the country, the government said. This was aimed especially against illegal poultry imports.

The government said it would pay special attention to Asian and Turkish poultry imports, in light of both regions being affected by the recent outbreaks.

While the government planned to take emergency measures to prevent the virus's entry into Germany, official experts decided against drastic measures such as quarantining poultry farms or mass culling of birds.

Meanwhile, poultry and migratory birds in Germany have so far tested negative for the disease, the government said.