The purpose of the ban is to stop the unfold of avian influenza
10 January 2024
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The Philippines’ division of agriculture has imposed an indefinite ban on imports of poultry and associated merchandise, together with wild birds, from Belgium and France following an avian influenza outbreak there, reported Reuters.
“We’re doing this to guard the well being of our native poultry inhabitants in addition to poultry employees and shoppers since H5N1 is a virus that may be transmitted to people by contaminated animals,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel mentioned in a press release.
Avian influenza, which is carried by migrating wild birds and might then be transmitted between farms, has ravaged flocks across the globe lately, disrupting provide, pushing up meals costs and elevating concern of a danger of transmission to people.
France and Belgium, which share a border, reported an outbreak of their chicken populations to the World Group for Animal Well being in November and December, respectively.
The Philippines’ import ban can even forestall merchants from bringing in Belgian and French poultry merchandise together with poultry meat, day-old chicks, hatching eggs, and poultry semen into the Philippines, the Division of Agriculture mentioned.
In 2023, the Philippines imported 426,620 metric tons of poultry meat, 3.78% increased than the earlier yr, with Belgium accounting for 0.59% and France 0.01%.
