EU Makes Ban on Exotic Bird Import

news.independent.co.uk...
The EU has slapped a ban on the import of budgerigars, parrots and all other pet birds as the authorities stepped up efforts to combat the spread of avian flu.

The move yesterday, strongly backed by the UK Government, follows the death in quarantine in the UK, of a parrot that was infected with the H5N1 strain of the virus that has killed around 60 people in Asia.

However, to the Government's embarrassment, it emerged that Britain opposed the idea of an EU ban on pet bird imports earlier this year, before bird flu reached Europe. Officials said that, at the time, such an embargo was considered "disproportionate to the risks", but that circumstances have now changed.


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