Live bird import ban lifted

The decision comes a week after a similar ban on imports from the other Channel Islands and France was lifted. Environment Minister Freddie Cohen said today the ban on all imports imposed on Monday 5 February had been a precautionary approach following the outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian flu at a Bernard Matthews turkey farm in Suffolk. ‘We are in a position to effectively seal the Island off as a form of protection in these circumstances and that is what we did to protect Jersey’s bird population,’ he said.