Protecting and stabilizing the supply of high-quality breeds, nearly 200000 imported poultry will be under quarantine and supervision by Yantai Customs in 2025 (see picture)
The picture shows customs officers conducting clinical examinations on imported breeding chickens. Lin Ying/Photo
Recently, officials from Yantai Customs under Qingdao Customs went to the Shandong Yisheng Poultry Quarantine Farm to conduct clinical examinations on five batches of over 49000 imported poultry that were about to end their quarantine period. After careful on-site investigation by customs officers, it was confirmed that the health status of the poultry is good and there is no risk of epidemic transmission.
This batch of high-quality ancestral poultry can be bred into tens of millions of commercial broiler chickens through two generations, laying a solid genetic foundation for supplying livestock and poultry products to the domestic market, "said Wang Guoli, a clerk in the inspection department of Yantai Customs stationed in Zhifu.
Currently, the scale and intensive development of the domestic poultry industry is accelerating, and the market demand for high-quality ancestral poultry is becoming increasingly strong. White feathered broiler chickens have a short growth cycle, high feed conversion rate, excellent meat quality, and low fat content, making them the preferred breed for commercial broiler farming worldwide.
The quality of introduced broiler chickens is directly related to the improvement and stable development of the downstream breeding industry chain. The ancestral broiler chickens we import in 2025 can provide about 800 million commercial broiler chickens for the market after two generations of breeding, which is closely related to the quality assurance and market supply of livestock and poultry products in the Spring Festival market. However, imported poultry have undergone international long-distance transportation, and their stress response is significant. They need to enter the isolation site as soon as possible for professional feeding and management, which is our most concerned issue
In response to the strong timeliness of customs clearance and high requirements for quarantine and epidemic prevention for imported poultry, Yantai Customs adheres to the principle of balancing supervision and service, and has formulated a special quarantine and supervision plan. We track the transportation dynamics of poultry in real time, implement a 'person waiting for vehicle' inspection mode, and realize the 'inspection and release of poultry upon arrival', minimizing the detention time of poultry as much as possible, "said Wang Mingliang, Deputy Director of the Inspection Department of the Yantai Customs Office in Zhifu.
At the same time, winter is a period of high incidence of diseases, which puts great pressure on the quarantine of imported poultry. Yantai Customs has established a full chain quarantine and supervision system of "source control, in-process supervision, and isolation monitoring", guiding enterprises to improve and perfect biological safety protection systems such as feeding management, epidemic prevention and disinfection, and personnel entry and exit. Strict clinical inspections are carried out on key links such as entry, sampling and inspection, and pre release supervision of poultry, and a dual supervision mechanism of "on-site supervision+video monitoring" is implemented to strictly prevent the introduction of major animal diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza and avian leukemia.
To ensure accurate and reliable quarantine results, we conduct testing on various types of samples such as poultry serum, cloaca swabs, and visceral tissues. By measuring antibody levels and screening pathogen loads, we form a closed-loop prevention and control chain, "said Yin Weili, a researcher at the Animal and Plant Quarantine Laboratory of Yantai Customs Technology Center. Each batch of breeding birds must undergo layers of "physical examination" and all indicators must meet national standards before they can be released from quarantine and put into production.
The customs have planned the quarantine process in advance, minimized the detention time of poultry as much as possible, effectively reduced the mortality rate of poultry, and reduced our economic losses. This is a sincere effort to do practical things and solve problems for enterprises, "said Lin Jingkai.
Efficient and high-quality regulatory services have brought significant introduction results. Data shows that by 2025, Yantai Customs will have cumulatively inspected and supervised 14 batches of 194400 imported poultry, a year-on-year increase of 23.79%.
Next, Yantai Customs will comprehensively prevent the risk of epidemic transmission, strengthen the national biosafety defense line, and contribute customs strength to promoting the sustainable and healthy development of China's animal husbandry industry and ensuring the supply of livelihood markets through precise supervision and warm services. (Zhang Boning, Lin Ying/text)