By Tracy Cabrera
DILIMAN, Quezon City — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has imposed a temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds, as well as their products, from Indiana, following confirmed outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in the state.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. signed the order to immediately halt shipments of poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen originating from the Midwestern U.S. state. The decision follows a February 23 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which confirmed multiple H5N1 outbreaks in Indiana through the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
The DA cited the rapid spread of the virus in the United States as the reason for broader trade restrictions to protect the Philippines’ multibillion-peso poultry industry. Under a 2016 bilateral animal health agreement between Manila and Washington, a state-wide import ban may be implemented if three or more counties in a U.S. state report bird flu cases.
The ban immediately suspends the processing and issuance of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearances (SPSICs) for the affected commodities. Previously approved SPS clearances for live birds are revoked. Shipments already in transit, loaded, or accepted at ports before the circular’s effectivity may still enter the country if they were slaughtered or produced on or before January 306, Laurel clarified.
Non-compliant shipments will be confiscated or handled under existing quarantine regulations, with veterinary quarantine officers instructed to enforce strict inspections and stoppage protocols at major ports.
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