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Topic: Parrot import into UK and bird flu spread 野鳥買賣與禽流感 (Read 716 times) |
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Carrie Ma
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Parrot import into UK and bird flu spread 野鳥買賣與禽流感
« on: Oct 24th, 2005, 8:48am » |
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Another message extracted from e-mail group of Asia Pacifici Migratory Waterbirds (by Taej Munkur) on 23 October 2005.
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Quote"
Dear all,
Attached is information of the importance of bird trade in Avian influenza (H5N1) spread - specifically into the UK of parrots. The article also states that there have already been several cases of cross-border parrot smuggling between Bulgaria and Turkey – the latest places to be affected by the bird flu.
With best wishes,
Taej
Wetlands International
Britain urges EU clampdown on exotic bird trade
Jamie Doward and Mark Townsend
Sunday October 23 2005
The Observer
Britain is pushing the European Union to halt the trade in exotic birds across its 25 member states after a parrot infected with avian flu was discovered in quarantine in Britain.
The incident has prompted fresh concerns about the way the virus can spread. Previously, attention has been focused on the spread of the disease by migrating birds.
'Any decision on restricting it (the movement of exotic birds) is a matter for the EU. However, we are urging the Commission to review its position to take account of regional and area risks following recent reports,' said a spokeswoman for the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra). The parrot, which was imported from South America, arrived in Britain last month and died a couple of days ago. Tests are continuing as to whether the strain of the virus it carried was the deadly H5N1.
'The bird trade is a real risk, in fact just as much as wild birds. We need to start cracking down on their movements,' said Julian Hughes, the head of species conservation at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
'This shows just how little we know about the movement of birds into Europe and within the EU. The irony is that we know more about the movements of wild birds than birds in captivity.'
In 2001, 28,500 exotic birds such as macaws and cockatoos were imported into the United Kingdom. By 2003 the figure had mounted to 83,000 - a threefold increase. In the same year, more than 10,000 parrots were imported - a 50 per cent increase on 2002.
But these figures are believed to be dwarfed by the illegal trade in smuggled birds.
The EU is now the world's biggest market for wild-caught parrots.
A total of two million exotic birds are traded in the EU every year. The RSPB believes that hundreds of thousands of birds are smuggled illegally into Britain every year.
Recently the society expressed concerns that the expansion of the EU has made it easier to smuggle exotic birds from Eastern to Western Europe. There have already been several cases of cross-border parrot smuggling between Bulgaria and Turkey.
Defra said that it would increase the number of random searches, sniffer dogs and customs personnel as part of a renewed campaign to clamp down on the trade in wild animals.
Read on...
How the government is dealing with flu outbreaks in birds
www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/avianinfluenza.htm
The Health Protection Agency's latest updates
www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/avianinfluenza/menu.htm
Food Standards Agency information www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2005/oct/avianflu
Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited
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| « Last Edit: Oct 24th, 2005, 8:21pm by Webcreeper » |
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