BEIJING - China's quality watchdog on Thursday announced that the government has banned imports of sheep and goat products from Russia to prevent sheep and goat pox infections.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), together with the Ministry of Agriculture, said quarantine permits will no longer be issued for the products, adding that any sheep or goat products shipped from Russia will be returned or destroyed.

An outbreak of sheep and goat pox in Russia's Primorskiy Kray in November 2011 resulted in the infection of 250 sheep, killing 12 of the animals, according to a Russian report to the World Organization for Animal Health.

The AQSIQ said in a statement on its website that China will also prohibit passengers from carrying or mailing any sheep or goat products from Russia, adding that illegal imports of such products will be destroyed under the supervision of quarantine authorities.