Japan Bans Korean Poultry Imports

On November 24, Japan placed a ban on Korean chicken imports.

Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Minister, announced the import ban by saying, “We heard the report that 6,000 chickens suspected of an avian influenza virus died in Korea. We have asked Korean authorities for detailed information regarding this.”

Animal quarantine stations at international airports and ports across Japan suspended the issuance of import permits on Korean chickens, starting November 23. The authorities at Japan’s international airports have made it obligatory to sterilize the shoe soles of Korean visitors. Japan purchases nearly 1,500 tons of Korean chickens annually.

Korean Local Authorities on Alert –

After cases suspected of AI infection occurred in a chicken farm in Iksan, North Jeolla Province were discovered, regional governments have established emergency task forces and are taking other quarantine measures to prevent the spread.

Municipal and provincial governments across the nation are distributing quicklime to chicken farms and increasing their purchase of disinfectants. They also set up checkpoints on major roads to monitor whether chickens and eggs from Iksan are transported to other places.

Meanwhile, local authorities are sterilizing fields around Cheonsu Bay in South Chungcheong Province, Lake Sihwa and the Imjin River in Gyeonggi Province, Cheorwon-gun in Gangwon Province and Lake Yeongsan and Suncheon Bay in South Jeolla Province to block the spread of AI carried by migratory bird flocks. They frequently take samples of migratory birds’ excrement for any signs of AI infection.

South Chungcheong Province collected excrement samples from 350,000 chickens at nine farms that received chicks from Halim Co., a food company headquartered in Iksan. In addition, South Jeolla Province is conducting more careful examinations and sterilizations on chickens at 134 farms that also received chicks from Halim.

Suspicious Cases of AI Reported –

Reports of suspicious cases followed one after another across the country. A chicken farm owner in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province reported on November 23 to the local health authorities that 200 chickens on his farm died over a span of three days beginning on November 21. Following examination, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry announced that a low pathogenic and less contagious type of AI caused the deaths. On November 23, a farmer in Buan-gun, North Jeolla Province reported the deaths of about 200 chickens on his farm seemingly caused by respiratory problems. Later, the provincial officials announced that the deaths had nothing to do with AI.

In response to the infection cases suspected of AI in Iksan, the provincial government is planning to cull and bury the rest of the farm flock of nearly 7,000 chickens at Hamyeol chicken farm on November 25. In addition, the six million eggs from the farm in question either being kept or incubated at nearby Nangsan and Samgi hatcheries will be disposed of.

If AI infection is confirmed in Iksan, the provincial authorities will destroy 236,000 chickens at six nearby farms, all of which are located within 500 meters of Hamyeol farm.

Afterwards, the geographical scope of culling could expand to three to 10 kilometers depending on the speed of spread. The local government reportedly is considering suspending the operation of Halim, the largest seller of chickens in Korea.

The province will carry out examinations with local residents to try and uncover bird-to-animal infections, if any, and request personnel reinforcements to local reserve forces and the police to regulate vehicle and human movement.