Gov’t bans poultry imports from UK, five other countries

Following the outbreak of bird influenza in some European countries, the government says it has banned the importation of day-old chickens and poultry products.

Poultry products from the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Denmark, and the United Kingdom have been banned, a statement from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture read.

The directive is a result of an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza subtype H5N8 in the aforementioned countries.

“The Ministry of Food and Agriculture upon advice from the Veterinary Services Directorate has placed a ban on the importation of day-old chicks, hatching eggs, frozen chicken, poultry products and poultry feed from these European countries with immediate effect,” part of the statement signed by the Acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Robert Ankobiah read.

To prevent an outbreak of the disease in this country, the statement explained that all import permits that were issued earlier for such consignment have been rendered invalid due to the new directive.

“Importers are to note that all imports permits that were issued for such consignments from Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Denmark and United Kingdom have been rendered invalid with immediate effect,” the statement added.