Dubai: The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment on Sunday banned the import of all kinds of domestic and wild live birds, ornamental birds, chicks, hatching eggs and non-heat-treated waste from Saudi Arabia.
The ban is based on notification from the Gulf Early Warning Centre on the outbreak of a highly contagious strain of bird flu, H5N8, in the Azizia market in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the ministry said in a statement.
“Entry of consignments of untreated products from the affected provinces - if any - that were shipped prior to December 1, 2017 is permitted following verification of accompanying certificates,” it said.
The minister also said that thermally treated poultry products (meat and eggs) are cleared for import from Saudi Arabia.
Bird flu strains have hit poultry flocks in several countries across the world in recent years, with some types of the disease also causing human infections and deaths. Saudi Arabia had earlier this year imposed restrictions on poultry imports from countries such as Bulgaria, in an effort to prevent the disease from spreading.
