New Zealand has halted poultry exports worth NZ$190 million annually due to bird flu outbreaks. Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard stated that export restrictions will remain in place until the country can verify bird flu-free status. The decision follows a bird flu outbreak at a commercial egg farm, where a high pathogenic H7N6 strain was detected. The strain is not the globally concerning H5N1 type and is unlikely to transmit to mammals, assures Biosecurity New Zealand. Some 40,000 birds are being culled, and a buffer zone and movement restrictions have been implemented around the farm. This situation is part of a broader concern as bird flu spreads among US poultry and dairy farms, with fears of human transmission.