2 more poultry farms in Bacolor shut down

BACOLOR town Mayor Eduardo “Diman” Datu ordered the closure of two more poultry farms after they were found to be operating without all the necessary permits from the local government unit (LGU) and for non-compliance to biosecurity measures.

Datu, in two separate closure orders dated September 6, ordered the owners of Allim Poultry and Big Eight Farm, both in Barangay Concepcion to “stop operations in the interest of public health and safety”.

The mayor said that the poultry farms are to stop operations until violations are corrected and recommendations of the monitoring teams on the town’s poultry farms are complied with.

To recall, Datu has ordered on August the closure of two poultry farms in Barangay San Isidro for various sanitary violations and lack of necessary permits.

Datu, in two closure orders dated August 20, 2019, ordered Ayes Farm and AGD Farm to stop operations after several inspections conducted by municipal sanitary and agriculture officers resulted in adverse findings against the farms.

Datu earlier issued an ultimatum to poultry and livestock owners in Bacolor town to abide by environmental laws and comply with sanitary regulations or face closure.

Earlier this week, the mayor issued Executive Order No. 15, which prohibits the establishment of new animal farms in the town and curtails the expansion of existing poultry and animal farms in Bacolor.

“The Municipality of Bacolor shall no longer accept, process or evaluate applications for the establishment, putting up and operation of poultry and animal farms as well as expansion of facilities of existing poultry and animal farms upon the effectivity of this order,” Datu said.

The order also stated that in case of existing poultry and animal farms which ceased to operate for one year or more, if revived, will be considered as new applications to operate and will be covered by the directive.

Datu also established the Municipal Joint Field Monitoring and Inspection Team on poultry and animal farms. The team will be in charge of the comprehensive census and monitoring of animal farms. They will also conduct regular field inspections and identify delinquent and non-compliant poultry farms.

Initial reports from the Municipal Government revealed that there are some 26 poultry farms in Bacolor town. Most of these are located in the barangays of Potrero, San Isidro, Concepcion, Dolores, Sta. Barbara, and Balas.

In Barangay Maliwalu alone, there are some six large-scale poultry farms. Some 97 percent of poultry farms in the town are large-scale broiler farms. The town also has 10 poultry farms operating mostly in barangays Balas and Potrero. The said farms are mostly medium to large operations.

Another farm appears to have no record at all with the municipal government.