PH bans poultry from Netherlands

The Philippine government, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), is banning the importation of wild and domestic birds, including poultry products from the Netherlands following an outbreak of bird flu in the European country.

In a statement on Friday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Dutch veterinary authorities reported to the World Organization for Animal Health on October 8, 2025 an outbreak of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the municipality of Aa en Hunze, Drenthe last October 6, 2025 which infected domestic birds.

Acting on the recommendation of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), the Agriculture chief said he ordered the import freeze, through Memorandum Order No. 68, to protect the country’s poultry population and prevent the entry of the HPAI virus.

Tiu Laurel said that the country’s poultry industry is vital to food security and a key source of investments and employment.

The import suspension covers poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and even semen used for artificial insemination of breeders from the Netherlands.

Tiu Laurel also directed the BAI to suspend the processing and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for poultry commodities from the Netherlands.

Under MO 68, shipments from the Netherlands that were in transit, loaded, or accepted at ports before the order took effect will be allowed entry, provided the products were slaughtered or produced on or before September 22.

Except for heat-treated products, all covered shipments arriving after the ban will be confiscated by veterinary quarantine officers at ports of entry.

To recall, the DA in December 2024 halted importation of birds and poultry products from the Netherlands due to a bird flu outbreak. This import ban was lifted last May this year. —VAL, GMA Integrated News