British government has called for a ban on wild bird imports to the European Union (EU) after bird flu was found in an imported parrot which died in a British quarantine unit.

Minister Ben Bradshaw from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Fedra) said Britain made a formal request on Saturday to the European Commission to ban the import of all live wild birds from around the world. He was quoted by local media as saying the ban on wild bird imports could be introduced within days.

The call came one day after a parrot died of the H5 strain of bird flu when in quarantine in Britain and UK scientists are trying to confirm whether it was the lethal H5N1 strain that has killed more than 60 people throughout the world.

"This is actually something we've been considering for some time, before the death of the parrot, it just so happens that the formal request has been made now," Bradshaw said. "My understanding is there would be considerable support throughout the EU for this."

Urging the European Commission to review its position, the Defra later said its call for an import ban did not include poultry which it says are not classed as "live birds".

Currently imports are only banned from countries which have bird flu cases, such as Romania, Thailand and Turkey.

The British government and the European Union insist Britain is still in disease free status following the Friday case in which a parrot imported from South America was diagnosed with avian flu, the first case of its kind in Britain since 1992.

"The confirmed case does not affect the UK's official disease free status because the disease has been identified in imported birds during quarantine," said Chief Veterinary Officer Debby Reynolds.

Source: Xinhua