PH bans importing poultry from Indiana due to bird flu outbreak

The Philippine government, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), imposed a moratorium on importing poultry—domestic, wild birds and their by-products—from the US midwestern state of Indiana due to avian influenza outbreaks.

In a statement on Saturday, the DA said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. issued the import restriction, immediately banning shipments of poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen originating from the American state.

The Agriculture Department said the import ban was issued following confirmed multiple outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain in Indiana, citing the US Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) February 23, 2026 report with laboratory confirmation from the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.

The rapid spread of the virus across the US necessitated wider trade restrictions to shield the country’s multibillion-peso poultry industry from possible exposure, the DA said.

Citing a 2016 bilateral animal health arrangement between Manila and Washington, the agency said that a state-wide ban may be imposed if three or more counties in a US state are affected by bird flu. 

“Indiana has breached that threshold, according to official reports submitted to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH),” the DA said.

“The import ban immediately suspends the processing and issuance of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearances (SPSICs) for the covered commodities. Previously approved SPS clearances for live birds are automatically revoked,” it said.

The Agriculture Department said that shipments already in transit, loaded, or accepted at port before the circular’s effectivity may still enter the Philippines, “provided the products were slaughtered or produced on or before January 30.”

“All non-compliant shipments will be confiscated or dealt with under existing quarantine regulations,” it said. 

“Veterinary quarantine officers across major ports have been instructed to enforce strict inspection and stoppage protocols,” it added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News