Poland puts ban on poultry imports from Thailand and Vietnam

The same decision was made last week by all the countries of the European Union. Poland is an importer of poultry from several countries in Asia. Almost 18,000 tons of poultry were imported over a period of 10 months in 2003 with an estimated value of $35.74 million. Sales of poultry from Vietnam accounted for $952,000 in 2003. The reason for banning imports is the highly contagious bird flu virus. In Vietnam and Thailand alone, seven people have already died from the disease while several others have become infected. The disease has ravaged breeding farms in ten provinces in Thailand. On Monday, a group of animal rights defenders protested against the methods used in the liquidation of infected farms, after a television channel broadcast how live chickens were packed into bags, crushed and thrown into pits filled with lime. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B2) A.K.