Tamil Nadu has lifted the ban on entry of poultry products from Kerala following a notification from the Central government. It certified that the State had brought the avian flu under control, thereby rendering unnecessary the embargo on its poultry products.
The ban was imposed on November 26, 2014 after the Bhopal-based National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases confirmed that avian influenza, known as bird flu or avian flu, had caused the death of 17,000 ducks in Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts. Following this, Kerala undertook a culling of lakhs of poultry birds.
Sources in the Animal Husbandry Department told The Hindu here on Saturday that while the ban has been lifted last week, those bringing poultry products from Kerala must still produce a certificate from a veterinarian or the government stating that the product was free of any pathogenic influenza.
Surveillance was heightened in Coimbatore as it is a major transit point for the bulk of the trade to Kerala and poultry products were not allowed even with such certification.
Published - July 12, 2015 12:00 am IST
