PH lifts ban on importing birds, poultry products from California, South Dakota

The Philippines, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), has lifted the ban on the importation of domestic, wild birds, and poultry products from the states of California and South Dakota in the US.

In a statement on Saturday, the DA said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. signed Memorandum Order No. 37 early this week to allow the importation of wild and domestic birds, including poultry products such as meat, hatching eggs, day-old chicks, and semen to be used for artificial insemination from the two US states.

The lifting of the importation ban was ordered after the two American states didn’t report any new outbreak of avian influenza since June and May this year, respectively.

The temporary ban on birds and poultry products from California was imposed in January, while the similar ban for birds coming from South Dakota was implemented in November last year.

The importation bans were imposed by the DA after confirmed outbreaks of H5N1 subtype of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, which has killed millions of infected birds and poultry. 

Bird flu can sometimes infect some mammals, including humans, according to the Agriculture Department.

The DA said the multi-billion poultry sector is a major contributor to Philippine agriculture, accounting for around 18% to farm output, and vital to food security. 

The poultry sector saw a 2% increase in the first half of this year, with chicken production as the driver. 

Central Luzon reported the highest inventory of 33.68 million birds, followed by CALABARZON with 27.32 million, and Northern Mindanao with 25.87 million. —VAL, GMA Integrated News