December 5 2005, 15:40 UNIAN

Ukraine's state veterinary inspector will be fired - Yushchenko

UNIAN news agency has cited the words of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko who said that the State Veterinary Inspector of Ukraine Petro Verbytsky would be dismissed from his post.

The President said that in the village of Nekrasovka, Sovietsky Raion, AR of Crimea, on Monday, being on a trip to the bird flu affected areas of the Crimea.

"Definitely, at the first stage the veterinary service - both local and undoubtedly central - proved to be ineffective. Therefore, once back from this visit, I will send to retirement the Chief Veterinary Inspector of Ukraine and will ask the Prime Minister of Crimea (Anatoly Burdiuhov) to examine the same issue as regards responsibility of the veterinary service in Crimea for what has happened in the five villages of this republic (the outburst of bird flu - UNIAN)", said the President.

"This is definitely a professional error of the veterinary service and it must bear the responsibility", he added.