Friday, January 25, 2008 Live birds, poultry import stopped
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily ban all imports of domestic and wild birds along with poultry products from Saudi Arabia, Poland, and Benin.
The ban was issued following official confirmation by animal health authorities of the outbreak of avian influenza or bird fly virus in these countries.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the temporary ban and other emergency measures were necessary to protect human health and the P60 million poultry industry in the Philippines, which has remained free of bird flu ever since the H5NI strain of this virus first resurfaced in Asia in 2003.
The ban covers all domestic and wild birds and their products, including day-old chicks, eggs and semen.
Yap directed all quarantine officers and inspectors of the Department at all major airports and seaports to stop and confiscate shipments of birds, poultry and poultry products into the country originating from Saudi Arabia, Benin, and Poland.
The DA has also imposed a ban on all live bird and poultry imports from Korea, United Kingdom and Japan after the presence of the bird flu virus was also detected in these countries.
However the ban on imports from Japan was lifted last May 2007 following an evaluation by the Bureau of Animal Industry that the risk of AI contamination from bird and poultry products originating from that country was negligible. (Press release)
