South Korea started to enforce a halt in the movement of all poultry, farmers and related equipment on Saturday in a bid to stem the further spread of avian influenza (AI), the agriculture ministry said.

The ban went into effect on 6 a.m. on Saturday and will be in place for 36 hours until 6 p.m. on Sunday, the ministry said.

Those subject to the ban include poultry farms and people involved in the business, including truck drivers and vets. Some 106,000 people related to the poultry business will be affected, while 31,000 facilities including farms, slaughterhouses and animal feed producers will also be under the order.

In addition, they were ordered to decontaminate their farms and equipment during the period.

Violation of the ban would result in up to 1 year in prison or 10 million won (US$9,282) in fine, the ministry said.

The latest move marks the third large-scale effort to decontaminate poultry farms and related facilities since a case of bird flu was reported late last year.

The ministry added that the movement of vehicles that transport cloven-hoofed animals will be restricted over the weekend as well to help stem the spread of foot-and-mouth disease that has also broken out in the country. (Yonhap)