Stock Photo | Image Source: Egor Myznik on Unsplash
CEBU CITY, Philippines – All poultry products and byproducts from Luzon will no longer be allowed to enter Cebu province.
This after Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia issued Executive Order (EO) No. 9, banning poultry products and byproducts for 45 days following confirmed cases of bird flu in the provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna, and Camarines Sur.
It covers live poultry and/or wild birds, including day-old chicks, semen, fresh eggs, embryonated eggs, manure, to name some.
Garcia’s newest EO, issued on Monday, March 7, took effect a few hours later, at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 8.
In a brief press interview, Garcia said, stakeholders of Cebu’s poultry industry, particularly those from Bantayan Island, expressed concern about confirmed cases of H5N1 in some provinces in Luzon.
H5N1 is classified as a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus.
“They were worried about (this development)… We also learned that some poultry products from Luzon cannot enter Negros (Occidental) anymore,” said Garcia.
In her EO, the governor stated that the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) has not issued any ‘No Movement’ policy of all poultry products and byproducts despite confirmed cases of bird flu in several provinces in Luzon.
“There is a need to protect the P12 billion-Poultry Industry of Cebu, and the general public from the effects of the Avian Influenza,” the EO stated.
The Capitol also made a similar decision in 2019 when the African Swine Fever (ASF) broke out in the country.
With the ban in effect, the province will be implementing “strict quarantine inspections” at all ports of entry.
“All local chief executives are directed to strengthen and implement minimum biosecurity measures in their area of jurisdiction, particularly at the poultry establishments, slaughterhouses/abattoirs, poultry dressing plants, live bird markets, and poultry farms,” it added.
The Capitol, through its Provincial Veterinary Office, is also expected to conduct surveillance of ‘identified critical and risk areas and sample collection’ to detect any possible cases of bird flu.
Cebu remains free of any confirmed cases of bird flu as of this writing.
RELATED STORIES
Cebu remains free from bird flu
S. Korea to strengthen measures vs possible outbreak of bird flu
/dcb