UAE prohibits import of products from countries struck by bird flu

The UAE banned the import of live birds and their byproducts from countries following the detection of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in November. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) issued four resolutions on Saturday as the World Organisation for Animal Health confirmed the outbreak (OIE).

The Ministry announced it is taking precautionary measures to ban the import of all species of domestic and wild live birds, ornamental birds, chicks, hatching eggs and their thermally untreated by-products from the Netherlands, Germany, and select areas of Russia as the first three resolutions. Russian regions where the ban has been imposed are Yugra, Chelyabinsk Oblast, the Republic of Tatarstan, Samara Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.

The fourth resolution extends the ban to the import of poultry meat and table eggs from some regions in the UK.

However, UAE allows the import of table eggs, poultry meat, and their byproducts as well as hatching eggs; one-day-old chicks are subject to clearance upon providing the approved health certificate. The affected countries have slaughtered thousands of chickens to curb the spread of the bird flu.