DA bans birds, poultry products from France amid avian flu outbreak

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday ordered a temporary ban on the importation of birds and poultry products from France amid another avian flu outbreak in the European country.

Based on Memorandum Order 40 dated September  27, 2024, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the import ban covers shipments of live poultry, poultry products, and by-products, including day-old chicks and semen.

Tiu Laurel said the decision to impose the ban came after France reported the outbreak of the High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Saint-Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France, to the World Organisation on Animal Health (WOAH) on August 7.

Laboratory tests later confirmed the bird flu infection, according to the DA.

“We are imposing the ban as a preemptive measure to stop the entry of infected birds and their by-products into the country. This step will prevent the spread of the virus that could have a devastating impact on the local poultry industry,” the DA secretary said in a statement.

The DA said that only birds slaughtered or products processed before July 25, 2024, will be allowed to enter the Philippines.

The memorandum order also suspended the issuance by the Bureau of Animal Industry of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearances for shipments coming from France.

Meanwhile, veterinary quarantine offices were ordered to stop and confiscate shipments of wild and domestic birds, eggs, semen, poultry products, and by-products, except those that are heat-treated.

The import ban will remain in place “until lifted by the agency,” said the DA.

From January to August 2024, the DA said the Philippines recorded 150,752 kilograms of imported poultry products from France.

Last January, the Philippine government  imposed an importation ban of poultry and poultry products from Belgium and France. The ban was lifted in April. —RF, GMA Integrated News