The Department of Agriculture has temporarily banned the importation of live birds from certain areas in the United States and Canada as a preventive measure in light of recent outbreaks of the H5N2 bird flu abroad.
Chief Agricultural Officer Bevin Braithwaite said the Canadian province of British Columbia has confirmed cases of the influenza, as have 17 states in the US, including Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
“Any person with the intent to import live birds into the territory must request an import permit from the Department of Agriculture, specifying the origin of the birds and the intended arrival before such a permit is granted,” Mr. Braithwaite said.
Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Michael Montrose said the department’s Veterinary Division has been vigilant since the start of the outbreaks in November 2014 in Europe.
Virgin Islands poultry farmers were made aware of the outbreak and what should be done to avoid importing infected birds, he explained.
“Now that the outbreaks have spread to the United States and North America, we have continued to notify farmers, importers and fowl handlers of the possible threat,” Dr. Montrose said. “We are carefully monitoring the situation, and we hope that persons take the time to apply or call the department before importing birds from any area.”
He added that the flu could also be spread by the migratory flocks that pass through the territory.
The temporary importation restriction is in accordance with the Animal (Disease and Importation) Act, according to government.
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