Thousands of eels seized in Beijing airport

Tens of thousands of live eels from Germany have been confiscated at the Beijing International Airport which will soon be destroyed, local authorities said here today.
Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau seized 12 cartons of live Anguilla anguilla, a kind of European eel, yesterday.
The carrier was on his way to southeast China's Fujian Province to breed them, but had no permission to bring aquatic products into the country, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The eels will be destroyed and samples have been sent to a laboratory for tests, law-enforcement officers said.
Many aquatic products are not allowed in the country.

An application for quarantine and approval must be submitted before the introduction of products from abroad.
Anguilla anguilla is very likely to carry viruses that might cause severe harm to the aquaculture industry, according to Zhang Lifeng, a scientist at Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau's animal testing laboratory.