RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has banned importing animals of equine species from France for the time being beacause of the outbreak of infectious anemia. The emergence of equine infectious anemia in France prompted the local authorities to issue a temporary ban on importing equines from this European country as it will be helpful in preventing the spread of the infection inside the Kingdom, according to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture. Commenting on the ban, Sanad Al-Harbi, the director general of the Department of Animal Risk Assessment, said that the Ministry of Environment issued a temporary ban on the import of live equines from France as per instructions from the concerned authorities. “The ban was based on the precautionary bulletin issued by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and reports on emergence of cases of equine infectious anemia in France,” said Al-Harbi. Such bans are periodically reviewed and lifted when the situation returns to normal, according to the ministry sources. OIE is an intergovernmental organization which coordinates, supports and promotes animal disease control and cautions governments against the widespread occurrence of infectious diseases. Equine species are one of the mammal family of Equidae that includes the modern horse, zebras and asses. Significantly, the horse from the equine family has been central to Saudi life as the Kingdom is known worldwide for its strong desert-bred Arabians from which the thoroughbred has descended. Notably, the outbreak of avian influenza also prompted the Kingdom to temporarily ban imports of the poultry products from the Netherlands early this month.