five observation teams from the Ministry of Agriculture are monitoring the annual migration of birds as cold weather in Europe and Russia has increased their numbers, but no diseased birds have been found, said Jabir Al-Shihri, a Ministry undersecretary. “Two months ago, these teams started to look for any indications of diseases among the birds and the Ministry has not received any reports of bird flu or any other diseases,” he said. Ministry Directorates are continuously following up this issue in the Kingdom's regions and collaborating with one another, he added. Engineer Al-Shihri said the current situation is safe, despite the large number of bird species that migrate to the Kingdom and neighboring countries. “The Ministry protects animal resources in the Kingdom from different diseases and there is collaboration with the Wildlife Protection Authority and other concerned parties,” he said, emphasizing that importing most birds into the Kingdom is prohibited. “The decision to ban bird imports is ongoing until we are sure the Kingdom is free of these diseases,” he said. “We are determined to protect birds and citizens from diseases.” The ban excludes falcons, which come through five well-known ports and are subject to medical examination, and broiler chicks less than a day old, he noted.
