Yemen bans importation of birds

A mealtime favorite poses mortal threat.

The National High Committee to Face Bird Flu has decided to prohibit the importation of live birds from countries with cases of infection, to prevent the disease from reaching Yemen. A meeting was held last Monday by Abdul-Karim Rase, Minister of Public Health and Population, attended by a representative from the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, as well as customs officials and other concerned bodies, to discuss reports on new bird flu infections in neighboring countries.

The meeting stressed the importance of implementing the cabinet’s decision to ban importing live birds from the infected countries and to provide the two ministries with necessary supplies to prevent a bird flu outbreak in the country.

Laborer Saeed al-Airqi said, “I eat chicken everyday. I was worried when I heard about Bird Flu spreading to Arabian countries, because my children like chicken very much. My family prefers chicken because of its low price, but we will probably quit eating it.” He is not alone in his fears.   “I am worried about the future of my trade because there is low demand from customers at my shops, so maybe I will lose my capital,” said Ahmed Ali, a poultry trader.

“I know some poultry traders will change their business to other fields because they expect to lose their money.”  Ali al-Moleihi, a butcher, said he was happy because he expected to sell his meat quickly and was excited about the prospect of raising his prices. “Yemeni people believe that poultry is diseased, so they’ll quit buying chicken and start buying other meat.”  

“We stopped importing birds from countries that have Bird Flu infections; furthermore, we have a plan to face bird flu—the Central Veterinary Laboratory has competent examinations,” said Dr. Mansour al-Qadsi, general director of the Central Veterinary Laboratory.

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