The Philippine government has lifted the temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds and poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from the Netherlands.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) issued Memorandum Order 24 authorizing the lifting of the temporary ban on Dutch poultry meat.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said he issued the directive after the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs confirmed to the Office Internationale des Epizooties that there have been no new highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) events in the Netherlands since February 2.
“Based on the evaluation of the Bureau of Animal Industry, the risk of contamination from importing poultry and poultry products from Utrecht, Zuid-Holland and Overijssel, the Netherlands, is negligible,” the memo read.
With the lifting of the ban, the DA has resumed the processing, evaluation of application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) import clearance for live poultry and poultry meat from the three areas in the Netherlands.
Manila imposed the temporary ban on the purchase of poultry meat from the Netherlands in January due to the outbreak of the HPAI virus serotype H5.
While the Netherlands is not a traditional source of poultry meat for the Philippines, the DA said the ban was put in place to protect the country’s livestock sector.
Outbreaks of HPAI are usually seen in European and North American countries during winter, as the virus survives well in cold climates, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Currently, the Philippines is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that remains free from the dreaded avian influenza virus.
The virus, which resurfaced in Asia in 2003, crippled poultry industries in neighboring countries, such as Vietnam.
Earlier Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock Jose Reano said that being an archipelago is proving to be an advantage to the Philippines in terms of controlling livestock diseases.