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  The Straits Times Forum Online 12 Jan 06
 Lift import ban on ornamental birds from Malaysia
 Letter from Mark Tan Chin Hung

I have been keeping song birds and parrots for more than five years and I've been frequenting bird shops on a weekly basis.

The recent bird flu scare has caused the import of ornamental birds from South-east Asia to be banned in Singapore. Hence pet shops are getting birds from other more costly sources. This has resulted in the sky-rocketing of the prices of birds.

Malaysia is free from bird flu. In fact, our chickens and other poultry come from farms in Malaysia. If that is the case, should not parrots and song birds be allowed too? Is not bird flu mainly caused by poultry?

The newspapers rarely print any articles of people contracting bird flu from a song bird or parrot. So shouldn't ornamental birds be allowed in from Malaysia?

I understand that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority sends its staff to the Malaysian borders to check the poultry that is coming from there. Why isn't it possible for the same arrangement to be made for ornamental birds?

I suggest that the AVA makes use of the ten-minute bird flu testing kit developed by Rockeby Biomed to test for the H5N1 virus for all species of birds coming into Singapore.

I believe that with standard regulatory precautions, such as using test kits, quarantine procedures, etc ornamental birds can be given the equal privilege of entering Singapore through the proper distribution channels.

Mark Tan Chin Hung
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