Avian flu fears forces EU to ban Turkish bird imports

THE European Commission yesterday ordered a ban on all imports of birds and feathers from Turkey amid new fears over avian influenza.

The ban should be in place by this evening, a Commission spokesman said, pending the results of tests which are underway at a Commission laboratory in Weybridge, Surrey.

A ban on imports of live birds and fresh poultry meat from Russia, Kazakhstan and large parts of Asia is already in place in a bid to protect the EU from the highly-contagious viral disease.