BUTUAN CITY – The Surigao del Sur city of Bislig has temporarily banned the entry of all live domestic and wild birds and other products amid the threat of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the country.
In an executive order issued Thursday afternoon, Mayor Florencio Garay said the temporary prohibition on the entry of all live domestic and wild birds and other byproducts will take effect on March 25 and will run for a period of 45 days.
“There is an urgent need to prohibit the entry of all domestic and wild birds, and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, semen, and manures from Luzon and Region 12 to safeguard the poultry industry as well as to protect the general public from the ill-effects of HPAI,” Garay said in his EO 15-22.
He said the recent detection of HPAI H5N1 in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, compelled the city government to implement the temporary ban, which also covers poultry products from the areas in mainland and island-provinces of Luzon.
During the period of prohibition, all live domestic birds, upon entry to the city, must have Veterinary Health Certificates (VHCs), indicating that these are sourced from farms with no incidence of avian influenza for the past 14 days prior to the shipment.
The entry of raw poultry meat, either processed or unprocessed, should have a meat inspection certificate issued by the National Meat Inspection Service and Veterinary Shipping Permit from the Bureau of Animal Industry.
The entry of eggs products in the city, either hatching, table, or embryo, locally known as “balut” shall be required to present VHCs issued by the Provincial, City, or Municipal Veterinary Office, indicating that the products are not derived from areas with reported avian influenza 14 days prior to the shipment.
To enforce the ban, the city government formed a task force to monitor and confiscate the specified products from restricted regions. (PNA)
Source: Business Diary Philippines
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