Further boosting Russia's agricultural isolation from Europe, a state watchdog banned imports of bull, goat and ram sperm from certain regions of Italy, Greece and Bulgaria.
Livestock from these regions have also been included in the import ban, the Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection Service said, ITAR-Tass reported.
The entertainment industry will also suffer because circus and zoo animals have likewise been added to the blacklist, the agency said Wednesday.
The ban also covers camels, llamas and alpacas, even though affected countries are not known as major producers of these animals.
The ban is due to an epizootic of the dangerous bluetongue disease, the service was cited as saying.
The watchdog, however, is also known for import bans widely seen as political.
Recently, it has blacklisted large shipments of various foodstuffs from the European Union after the alliance sanctioned Russia for allegedly meddling in the civil war in Ukraine.
Expanding on these bans, the Russian government on Thursday prohibited imports of meat, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from countries that sanctioned Russia over Ukraine.
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