Philippines lifts poultry import ban from Czech Republic

The Philippines has lifted its ban on importing birds and bird by-products from the Czech Republic.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. ordered the lifting of the import ban following the declaration that the European country has resolved the avian influenza outbreak.

The Agriculture Department issued a temporary ban on import of wild and domestic birds from the Czech Republic, including poultry meat, eggs, day-old chicks, and semen in March due an outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu.

Citing the Czech Republic’s recent report to the World Organization for Animal Health, the DA said that all bird flu infections have been resolved in the European nation and no additional outbreak has been reported since May 8.

“With all the technical information and documents submitted by their veterinary authorities, the DA is lifting the suspension imposed on the Czech Republic thus any trade from this country may commence again,”Tiu Laurel said in his Memorandum Order No. 30.

Avian flu is a notifiable disease, which means any outbreak of certain diseases must be reported by a country’s veterinary authority to the WOAH.

The DA said it imposes a ban on importation of birds and their by-products in countries where there are reported outbreaks of bird flu to prevent contagion on local poultry, a multi-billion-peso industry that employed thousands of Filipinos and is a key component of the government’s food security goal. — Ted Cordero/RSJ, GMA Integrated News