Bird owners in Latvia ordered to keep flocks inside as avian flu spreads in Europe

RIGA - Bird owners in Latvia have been told to keep their flocks indoors to prevent them from contracting highly contagious avian flu, the Baltic country's Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday.

The government on Tuesday approved the Agriculture Ministry's proposal to step up biosafety requirements for poultry farmers and all other keepers of domestic birds. The toughened requirements, effective as of this Friday, include a ban on letting birds outside, the ministry informed.

The ministry's press service explained that the additional biosafety requirements have been adopted to reduce the risk of the highly pathogenic virus being transmitted from wild birds to domestic birds.

Additional safety measures have been introduced not only for birds but also for employees of poultry farms. They will be required to change their clothes and footwear as they arrive and leave their workplace where they come into contact with birds.

Domestic birds will have to be kept in closed premises to prevent any contact with wild birds and animals.

There have been no known cases of avian flu in Latvia so far.