Nigerian gov't urged to curtail importation of birds

The Nigerian government has been advised to make strict laws to curtail the importation of birds with avian flu into the country.

Chief Peter Onuorah, chairman of the Committee on Agriculture of the Anambra State House of Assembly, gave the advice at the weekend, saying that such laws would save the nation's livestock from extinction.

Onuorah was reacting to recent reports in an American journal that bird flu outbreak in Nigeria may have resulted from imported birds.

He told reporters that the government should punish anybody or organization that imported such birds into the country.

"The government should inspect and screen such birds before they enter the country, because allowing them into the country unchecked could be disastrous to the nation's poultry industry," he said.

The legislator also called on the government to carry out more tests on infected birds to determine the source of the disease and how to check it.

Onuorah also urged Nigerians to assist the government to check further spread of bird flu by reporting any outbreak and possibly its source.

The outbreak of bird flu was first confirmed last February in the most populous African country with a population of over 140 million. But no human being has so far been infected.

Source: Xinhua