Bangladesh bans chicken imports

Bangladesh has banned the import of live chickens from seven East Asian countries because of fears over bird flu, a senior official at the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has confirmed to BBC.

The countries are Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The secretary-general of the Bangladesh poultry association, Kaiser Rahman, said they were told about the government decision on Thursday.

Mr Rahman said Bangladesh only imports one-day old chicks for rearing from Thailand and Malaysia. He disagreed with the government decision to ban the import of chickens from those two countries, saying they are free from bird flu.