Pet and live bird restrictions in the EU

EU Beefs Up Bird Flu Measures

On EU Doorstep: 4 July 2006, Tuesday.

The European Commission has beefed up measures to combat bird flu, extending an import ban on live birds.

It also tightened movement restrictions on pet birds entering the European Union.

EU veterinary experts green-lighted the current ban, which runs out at the end of the month, to be prolonged until December 31.

An embargo on poultry meat exports from Turkey will also be extended until the end of the year, the EC said in a statement.

The EU's executive also allowed the Netherlands to continue a vaccination program aimed at protecting its poultry industry from the lethal disease, and add more species, like geese, to it.

A ban on the import of poultry products from China, Malaysia and Thailand will also remain in place until December 31, 2007 due to the persistence of the disease.

Health experts fear the H5N1 strain of bird flu could mutate into a form that is transmitted more easily between humans, marking the first stage of a global flu pandemic that could kill millions.