Vet: Masmen cause of ruffled feathers

Dr Stephen Johnston, director at the Port-of- Spain Veterinary Office yesterday stated that a number of people who import feathers for mas production, do so without import permits. He said those permits clearly indicate what documents are required — an original certificate from the USDA. “Once all documents are in tact, importations can be cleared the same day or the following day. But the problem is that people don’t have the necessary documents for importation of such material,” said Dr. Johnston. On Wednesday, some mas producers were up in arms over the quarantining of their feathers at Piarco on its arrival into the country, relating it to the recent outbreak of Bird Flu in Asia. However Dr Johnston indicated that a ban was imposed on poultry from the United States since last year after the Newcastle outbreak in the US but that it has since been controlled in the US. 
 
The ministry is now in the process of lifting the ban completely having already lifted the ban on poultry products. “We try to make sure there are no bottlenecks and try to clear material without any undue delay,” he said. He explained the requirements for the importation of items such as feathers. He said: “The feathers must be properly cured and free of any evidence of contamination.  Available proof must be presented to indicate that the feathers were purchased from a consumer trading organisation and not sourced directly from a farm.” He said too that the permit also indicates that the feathers are subject to veterinary approval and a 24-hour notice of inspection.

But what generally happens is that these people import feathers without import permits. This view was supported by Joseph James, supervisor at the Plant Quarantine Division (PQD) in Piarco, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture. He said: “When a passenger brings in feathers, like with any organic item, it must be declared to customs who will in turn refer it to the PQD to be inspected before clearance. The passenger is then referred to a vet attached to the Ministry of Agriculture for inspection and clearance. The feathers are not actually quarantined but detained or held until a vet who comes in daily, inspects them. If requirements are not met, importers will be informed as to what they need to produce, like the source of the feathers. “They need import permits for these things but they don’t carry out the requirements for importation.” Joseph even cited masman Stephen Derek’s problem as a typical example stating that the masman had no permit and was given until February 13, to produce it.