Agriculture Ministry bans German chickens and eggs

Korea’s Agriculture Ministry said Wednesday it has placed a ban on poultry and egg imports from Germany following an outbreak of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (AI) in the European country.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it began the ban on live German chicks and eggs after H5N6 was detected in the nation’s northern region on Tuesday.

The measure is not likely to affect the local market as South Korea has not imported German chicks and eggs over the past two years, the ministry said.

The ministry recommended that locals refrain from visiting livestock farms and bringing animals from the affected region.

Highly pathogenic AI is very contagious and can make poultry very sick or even cause death.

The last outbreak of AI in Korea was detected in March at three farms in Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong.

Health authorities were able to contain the outbreak by culling chickens at the three farms.

Yonhap