Qatar will ban bird hunting to avert disease

Doha: Qatar will ban bird hunting as a preventive measure against bird flu virus, local Arabic daily Al Rayah said on Tuesday.

Faleh Bin Nasser Al Thani, director of the municipal research and development department, told the daily that a similar measure has been implemented in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The daily said officials from the Supreme Council for Environment and Natural resources have found no trace of avian flu in migratory birds in Qatar.

Qatar News Agency quoted Qassem Al Qah'tani, director of Animal Resources at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture, as saying the country is ready to tackle an emergency. "We have an effective strategy in place to fight the disease if it outbreaks here. All bird imports now require a permit from the Animal Resources Department and a certificate from veterinary bodies," he said.

Monitoring

Al Qah'tani said his department had months ago implemented a plan to monitor the disease and formed veterinary teams that were testing birds in various parts of the country.

He said centres were also set up to test birds brought in from other countries. Import of birds from countries where bird flu cases were reported was still banned.

Addressing local papers, Ahmad Al Idrisi of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, said the organisation will hold a training programme for 13 countries in the Middle East, including Gulf states, to help them improve veterinary services.

This programme will be conducted in Cairo early next month.