Ireland imposes limited ban on British bird imports
Source: Reuters
(Adds agriculture ministry confirmation) By Paul Hoskins DUBLIN, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Ireland banned the import of poultry from Britain for "gatherings and shows" on Monday but described it as a precautionary measure that would not include birds from British-ruled Northern Ireland. Ireland's Department of Agriculture said the move, which follows an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in eastern England, would be backed up by re-issuing advice to flock-owners and the public on the need for reporting the deaths of wild birds and maintaining "bio-security" on farms. "The situation in England will continue to be kept under review," Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan said in a statement. "In the meantime no additional measures ... are being introduced at this time." Coughlan said during media interviews over the weekend that the geographical proximity of the latest case of avian flu had increased the risk of an outbreak of the highly pathogenic strain in Ireland. She stressed, however, that the overall threat remained low given Britain's response -- including a cull of 160,000 turkeys -- and said then that current measures to protect against an Irish outbreak should be adequate. Ireland had already imposed a number of safety measures, including a wild bird surveillance programme, after other outbreaks of the disease in more distant parts of Europe.
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