Philippines announces multiple poultry import bans

Agriculture Secretary in the Philippines, Proceso J. Alcala, has issued four separate orders which temporarily ban the importation of domestic and wild birds, including their products such as meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen.

The bans apply to products from Vinh Long and Tra Vinh, Vietnam; Veneto, Italy; Ter Aar, Zuid-Holland, and Kamperveen and Utrecht City, the Netherlands.

The orders were issued following confirmed reports from the Office Internationale Des Epizooties (OIE) of outbreak of highly pathogenic Avian Influenza virus serotype H5 in Vinh Long and Trah Vinh , Vietnam, and highly pathogenic Avian Influenza virus serotype H5N8 in Veneto, Italy; Ter Aar, Zuid-Holland, and Kamperveen and Utrecht City, the Netherlands.

Aside from restricting the entry of poultry products, Alcala also called for the immediate suspension of processing, evaluation of application, and issuance of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) import clearance for the mentioned products from said places.

Alcala likewise ordered that with the exception of heat-treated products, all shipments of abovementioned commodities shall be stopped and confiscated at all major ports by DA veterinary quarantine officers/inspectors.

Source: Philippine Department of Agriculture