AGRICULTURE Minister Timis Efthymiou yesterday announced a ban on duck hunting amid growing public fears of a possible bird flu outbreak. The move follows reports of an increase in suspected bird flu cases across Turkey.
Meanwhile the European Commission issued a statement banning European Union imports of untreated feathers from six countries close to or neighbouring Turkey, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Efthymiou said the stepping up of measures were merely additional preventative methods and assured the public there was no cause for panic. He explained the duck-hunting ban was taken because a possible means of avian flu transmission was through migratory birds such as ducks.
Speaking to reporters following an emergency Ministry meeting to assess the situation in light of the new cases in Turkey, Efthymiou said the authorities continued to execute all measures implemented by the European Union since the first case of bird flu was reported in Europe last October.
“Not only are we ready but we also have the correct structure in place which ensure its timely detection and will prevent its spread,” he said.
Measures include testing stool samples and dead birds found mainly near marshes, banning animal origin products from the occupied areas, in particular poultry products, as well as checking planes arriving from countries that have already had cases of bird flu.
To date the authorities have not found any cases of the virus on the island or any evidence it has spread to other birds such as partridges, Efthymiou added.
Nevertheless, the Minister said were a case of the virus to be found on the island, people should not worry as the government had a plan of action to isolate the problem including sealing off the infected area to avoid its spread.
Meanwhile government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides criticised Turkey for its failure to cooperate with the Republic in its efforts to monitor the problem. He said the government continued to seek the exchange of information and cooperation with Turkish Cypriot community via the United Nations in “and does not consider that this creates any problems regarding (the island’s) political and legal realities”.
Last October Nicosia sent a letter to Ankara seeking a meeting to draft an intensive course of action to combat bird flu. So far there has been no official response to the request, apart from a formal acknowledgment of receipt and a promise that a reaction would be forthcoming, said Chrysostomides.
The spokesman said he hoped all necessary measures were being taken in the occupied areas of which was made vulnerable following the cases of avian influenza in Turkey.
“I believe that the occupied area is exposed but I hope that the necessary measures will be taken there as well,” he said.
According to Veterinary Services head George Neophytou, his department had received information that the occupied areas had banned import bird and poultry products from Turkey since October and the agriculture minister said the government had sent Turkish Cypriot veterinarians the strategic plan for tackling avian influenza.
But the Turkish Cypriot ‘Agriculture Minister’ yesterday denied any official or unofficial contact with the Republic’s authorities and said the Greek Cypriot side had not responded to Turkish Cypriot appeals for cooperation.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference in the north, he confirmed all measures carried out in Turkey and in the Republic to monitor a possible outbreak of bird flu were also implemented in the occupied areas.
The ‘minister’ added that in light of a problem, the Turkish Cypriot side was in communication with Turkey and had prepared a plan of action and was willing to help the Greek Cypriots if necessary.
Authorities in the north have also banned duck hunting in light of the Ankara scare.
