Dominicans shut down border market for Haitians

Dominicans shut down border market for Haitians Dominican Republic merchants Monday followed up on an earlier threat and closed down a border market in Dajab'n that caters to Haitians.
   The market closure was in response to Haiti's ban on Dominican poultry and eggs. The shipments have been prohibited since 115 Dominican-raised chickens were found to have a strain of bird flu. The stain of flu does not pose a threat to humans. A second round of testing has uncovered more bird flu, and all exposed poultry has been destroyed, according to reports from the Associated Press and the newspapers Dominican Today and El Caribe.
   The Dajab'n Market is a key trading market in the Dominican Republic near the Haitian border.
   Haitian Minister of Agriculture Jolivier Toussaint protested the market closure, saying it would hurt commerce for both nations.
   “As soon as the Dominicans treat the animals they have and it is approved by the international community, Haiti will have no problem” lifting the poultry ban, he said, according to an Associated Press report from Port-Au-Prince.