LOC18:39
15:39 GMT
KUWAIT, Oct 6 (KUNA) -- Kuwait said Thursday it had lifted a ban on imports
of hunting and pet birds and poultry from Russia and the US state of Missouri,
after birds in these regions were announced bird flu positive.
The announcement comes after the World Health Organisation declared the two
areas clear of the bird flu virus (H5N1), Kuwait's Public Authority for
Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) said in a statement.
The ban was to protect the local bird population and in regard of public
health, PAAAFR official, Nabila Al-Khalil said.
The PAAAFR animal resources department, of which she is chairman, takes
extreme precautions and tightens its inspections of border exits, refusing to
allow the import of animals into the country without the prior approval of
veterinary lab assessment teams, Al-Khalil added.
As of November, poultry companies will be invited to hold regular meetings
with the PAAAFR, in order to provide these companies with necessary animal
medication and vaccines as part of the country's precautionary measures, she
concluded. (end)
hmm.sd
KUNA 061839 Oct 11NNNN