The UAE’s Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW) has not banned the import of live camels, as reported by a section of the media, Khaleej Times has learnt.
Some newspapers and websites in the UAE on Sunday reported that the ministry has put a temporary ban on the import of live camels as a precautionary measure to prevent the outbreak of any contagious disease.
Camels are known to spread the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (Mers-CoV) in humans. Saudi Arabia’s Health Ministry last week confirmed a link between camels and the virus, the reports said, quoting tweets from the MoEW.
However, on Monday, the ministry did not confirm officially announcing a ban and no tweets related to the ban were found on its official twitter page @MoEWUAE.
Instead, a press statement by the ministry said it was taking all preventive measures to raise the level of bio-security in the country and safeguard public health.
The measures include implementing veterinary quarantine procedures, and tracking and controlling epidemic and contagious diseases as per international standards.
The ministry said it continues monitoring the epidemic situation of all animal diseases, including the latest developments related to Mers-CoV, in collaboration with its strategic partners. These are international agencies such as the OIE-World Organisation for Animal Health and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Camels entering through border check points and other inland points are also being examined, which is a normal procedure.
