Sarawak on Indonesian poultry-smuggling alert
Malysian state Sarawak on the island of Borneo is on alert to prevent the smuggling of live poultry and pet birds from across the border with Indonesia, because of bird flu fears.
Government officials said the state enforcement agencies had foiled several such smuggling cases involving both the locals and Indonesians. In Indonesia, 79 people have died of bird flu.
The State Veterinary Authority enforcement officers seized five kampung pigs and pork which were illegally brought into Sarawak. However, the Indonesian smugglers escaped.
The veterinary authority carries out regular surveillances at border villages, wet markets, bird sanctuaries, poultry farms and ports of entry. During these surveillances it has collected 4,750 samples from these places during the first five months of this year. Tests on the samples for avian influenza were all negative.
Veterinary officers regularly remind border farmers of the risks of bringing in live poultry and pet or game birds from Kalimantan, Indonesia, and were told to report any such cases.
Indonesia, which had detected 99 human cases of bird flu (the world’s highest), is vaccinating its live poultry against the bird flu.
Join 31,000+ subscribers
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about all the need-to-know content in the poultry sector, three times a week.
