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Ban on imports of live captive birds extended
The European Commission has approved a proposal to
extend a ban on imports of all captive live birds into the EU for a further
three months.
The ban, which was first adopted in October 2005 as part of EU preventative
measures against
avian
influenza, will remain in place until 31 March 2007.
The Commission has extended the ban in order to allow sufficient time to
consider a scientific evaluation on the impact of live bird importation
developed by the
European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
This evaluation became available officially in the middle of last month,
and has identified a number of ways in which the provisions for captive bird
imports could be improved so as to significantly reduce any risk posed to animal
health in the EU.
The EC says it “needs more time to carefully consider EFSA's evaluation
before deciding on the most appropriate measures for captive bird imports in the
futureâ€.
The Commission's aim is to put forward a proposal on these measures in
early 2007.
Given the global avian influenza situation, the EC deemed it necessary to
keep the current import ban in place until new protection measures are in
place.
Editor WorldPoultry
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