No Indian chicks till all-clear

With bird-flu spreading in India, authorities here have decided to ban poultry imports from India until Office International des Epizooties (OIE), the world organization which monitors the regional and global spread of contagious animal diseases, gives the all-clear that importing from India is safe. Sri Lanka Poultry Association president Dr. D.D.Wanasinghe said that Sri Lanka imports day-old parent chicks from India and it was only 25 percent of our whole requirements while the importing was not done daily but only once in six months.

Health Ministry Epidemiology Unit officials said Sri Lanka was vulnerable to diseases because of large scale poultry industries, backyard poultry farming, increased travel and trade both within and outside the country and the recent Avian Influenza outbreaks among poultry in India.