Imports of live poultry from Britain banned

As the Government moved to reassure consumers about the safety of Irish poultry products, Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan…

As the Government moved to reassure consumers about the safety of Irish poultry products, Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan yesterday banned the import of birds from Britain for gatherings and shows in the State.

The ban, which does not apply to birds from Northern Ireland, was announced following a meeting with her senior officials who make up the National Disease Control Centre management team yesterday morning.

A statement issued after this meeting said that no additional measures other than this ban were being introduced at this time. It would hit falconers, owners of exotic birds and pigeon fanciers who exhibit here, mainly at summer shows or game fairs.

At the meeting, the team reviewed the most up-to-date information available from the UK authorities in London on the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu on a turkey farm in Suffolk.

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The Cabinet is due to discuss the threat posed by avian flu at its weekly meeting today and Ms Coughlan is likely to face questions in the Dáil later about Ireland's readiness to deal with any outbreak.

Both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste yesterday stressed there was no difficulty with eating poultry products, although Mr Ahern acknowledged that precautions would still have to be taken.

A meeting of chief veterinary officers of EU member states tomorrow will review the mandatory ban on poultry from the immediate vicinity of the British outbreak and it is thought the EU may ban all poultry exports from that region of Britain.

Ms Coughlan said her department was taking immediate steps to reissue advice and information to poultry flock-owners and the public about maintaining high levels of on-farm biosecurity and the reporting of wild bird mortalities to the department's avian flu helpline number - 1890 252 283.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said there was no reason for the public to be concerned about eating cooked poultry following the outbreak of avian flu in the UK.

However, it warned consumers to follow good hygiene practice and to cook products thoroughly before consumption. Normal cooking procedures would kill the H5N1 virus if present, leaving no risk of infection.

Poultry should be cooked to reach at least 70 degrees in all parts of the product, ensuring that it is piping hot all the way through, with no pink meat left and until the juices run clear.

Minister for Health Mary Harney promised there would be sufficient resources to deal with any problems that arose.

Labour's agriculture spokeswoman, Mary Upton, called on the Government to take immediate steps to reassure the public. Ms Upton proposed that products from Bernard Matthews, which owns the infected farm in the UK, should be removed from Irish shops and the Government should establish a bio-security unit. However, Fianna Fáil TD Máire Hoctor accused Ms Upton of "opportunist scaremongering" by calling for the removal of poultry from shops.