THE Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) of Negros Occidental is looking for more appropriate auction market in the province that will cater to both breeder animals, and those for slaughter or commercial purposes, its top official said.

Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena, who led PVO personnel in a benchmarking activity at Padre Garcia town in Batangas last week, Wednesday, May 2, said the province is currently studying on the appropriate place for final auction market.

Decena said auction market is needed especially for raisers association beneficiaries, but the facility needs to be compliant with certain guidelines.

"It should be accredited with the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and is really suited for animal auction," he said, adding that the initial area at Panaad Stadium in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City has to be further studied in terms of appropriateness.

The provincial veterinarian said the area in Panaad can only cater to breeder animals, and not yet appropriate for commercial and slaughter.

Decena said utilizing the Negros First Animal Ranch in Murcia town is also unlikely due to biosecurity concerns.

"We have to cater to our animal raisers to match with the buyers," he said, adding that aside from establishment of the auction market, PVO's mandate also includes the building of slaughterhouses, artificial insemination centers, and breeding farms.

Benchmark

On Monday, PVO presented their findings and recommendations to Governor Alfredo Marañon from their visit to Padre Garcia, which is tagged as the cattle trading capital of the Philippines.

The PVO reported that livestock auction market there started as early as 1950's catering to small and large animal traders from Pangasinan, Masbate, Marinduque, and Bicol.

Their livestock auction market transaction is administered not through bidding, but on the agreed prices of seller and buyer, it said.

Based on their findings, the price tag per animal commodity in Padre Garcia is also based on the traditional estimation scheme called "mata-mata" as weighing is no longer viable due to the bulk of daily transactions.

The municipal government facilitates access, provide the venue and ensure security, procedures, and rules for smooth transactions.

The revenues are generated through collection of various certification fees, return fees, cash tickets, and rentals.

With these findings, the PVO recommended that location for auction market in the province should be large enough to accommodate numbers of animals and traders.

Holding area for animals should also be given importance to ensure animal safety and welfare, it said.

Decena said before the province can operate its own auction market, it has to comply with all the requirements like securing authorization from the BAI.

Padre Garcia's best practices can be replicated in Negros Occidental, he also said.

In its recommendation, PVO further said auction market has a greater impact on the public if it has been existing as part of people’s tradition.

Thus, location with historical significance on animal trade is a factor as a pooling place, it said.

"Aside from auction, we are also studying on putting up a 'livestock motel' as animals need to be quarantined before the shipment," Decena added.