EU Bans ostrich, Emus Imports From S.Africa

By Reuters Posted 06 July 2006 @ 11:01 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

CAPETOWN (Reuters) - The European Union has banned imports of ostriches, emus and their meat from two districts in South Africa after a strain of bird flu was found on a farm in the country's southwest, the EU executive said on Wednesday.

The ban will remain until the end of October and apply to live ostriches, emus, their eggs, meat and meat products from Mossel Bay and Riversdale in Western Cape province, where the H5N2 strain of the disease was detected recently.

South Africa culled some 15,000 ostriches after a similar outbreak in 2004 to contain the highly contagious disease.

Last November, the EU resumed ostrich imports from South Africa after it declared itself free of H5N2 bird flu -- a strain that is deadly to animals but, unlike the "Asian" H5N1 variety, not to humans.

Since no birds, poultry or poultry products were authorised for import into the EU from South Africa at the moment, a ban was not necessary for these products, the European Commission said in a statement.

When fully grown, ostriches are the largest birds in the world. They are mostly used for their meat and feathers, as well as to make oil and leather.