THE Aquino administration has imposed temporary ban on the importation of domesticated and wild birds and their products including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from Chiayi County, Taiwan.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala set the temporary ban to protect the health of the local livestock population and food safety in the country from the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
It was reported by Taiwan's Agriculture Technology Research Institute to the Office of International des Epizooties (OIE) that there has been an outbreak of HPAI serotype H5N8 virus affecting farm with breeding geese in Da-Lin Township in said county.
The OIE Animal Health Information Department said that the H5 HPAI virus is among the notifiable OIE-listed terrestrial animal diseases, infections and infestations in force in 2014.
Under the orders, Alcala specified emergency measures such as the immediate suspension of the processing, evaluation of application and issuance of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Import Clearance to import the aforementioned commodities from said location; and stoppage and confiscation of all shipments of aforementioned commodities from said locations, except heat-treated products.
He also said that the importation of poultry and meat products is subject to the conditions provided in the applicable articles of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code, 2014.
“We have been taking all the necessary measures to protect our borders against avian diseases, which could impend over our country's growing poultry industry,” Alcala said.
The OIE is an inter-governmental organization that, among others, has functions of informing governments of the occurrence of animal diseases and of ways to control these diseases, of coordinating studies devoted to the surveillance and control of animal diseases and of harmonizing regulations to facilitate trade in animals and animal products. (SDR/Sunnex)