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On World AIDS Day, I'm happy to report a serious lack of flu news. But here is a Reuters item: EU extends import ban on captive birds to end-March. Excerpt:
European Union veterinary experts on Friday extended a ban on all imports of captive live birds from outside the bloc for a further three months to guard against the spread of bird flu, the European Commission said.
The ban would now remain in force until March 31, 2007.
"Originally, the Commission had not intended to extend this ban. Instead, it had intended to amend the entire set of provisions for captive bird imports, including quarantine requirements," it said in a statement.
The Commission, the EU's executive arm, said it needed more time to assess an opinion delivered last month by the EU's leading food safety agency EFSA on the animal health and welfare risks associated with live bird imports.
Once it had done so, new measures would be proposed for regulating EU imports of captive birds, the statement said.
I hope the weekend brings us no news more serious than this.
Posted by dymaxion at December 5, 2006 11:01 PM
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