IN A bid to ensure the safety of the P8-billion poultry industry of Negros Occidental, the Provincial Government has banned the entry of all live domestic and wild birds, as well as their products from all regions in the country amid the bird flu threat.
Effective February 28 to March 15, 2022, the temporary total ban also covers poultry meat, day old chicks, eggs, semen and manure.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, in an Executive Order (EO) he issued Sunday, February 27, said the measure is also aimed at protecting the general public from the ill effects of the disease.
Lacson cited that on February 22, the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), conducted a test among affected birds in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga using real time - polymerase chain reaction test (RT-PCR).
Laboratory test results showed that the samples were positive of the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 strain commonly known as bird flu.
“Following the reported incidents of confirmed cases of bird flu, there’s an urgent need to prohibit the entry of all domestic and wild birds as well as their products,” he added.
Released on February 24, DA Memorandum Circular 05 Series of 2022 provided guidelines on the local movement of domestic and wild birds, poultry products and by-products during the Avian Influenza surveillance period.
In Negros Occidental, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) was directed to install quarantine checkpoints in the possible entry points of all domestic and wild birds and other poultry products and by-products. The governor also ordered the strengthening of biosafety, hygiene and sanitation standards in the province.
“In order to ensure the safety of everyone in Negros Occidental, all local chief executives are directed to strengthen biosafety, hygiene an sanitation standards in slaughterhouses, abattoirs, public markets and poultry farms in their respective area of jurisdiction,” he stressed.
PVO records showed that the province’s poultry industry comprises P4 billion worth of broiler and native chicken, P3 billion gamefowl, and P1 billion layer and duck sectors.