The Philippines’ division of agriculture stated on Tuesday it has imposed an indefinite ban on imports of poultry and associated merchandise, together with wild birds, from Belgium and France following a fowl flu outbreak there.
“We’re doing this to protect the health of our local poultry population as well as poultry workers and consumers since H5N1 is a virus that can be transmitted to humans by infected animals,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel stated in a press release.
Bird flu, which is carried by migrating wild birds and may then be transmitted between farms, has ravaged flocks across the globe in recent years, disrupting provide, pushing up meals costs and elevating concern of a threat of transmission to people.
France and Belgium, which share a border, reported the fowl flu outbreak of their fowl populations to the World Organization for Animal Health in November and December, respectively.
The Philippines’ import ban can even stop 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 Department of Agriculture stated.
In 2023, the Philippines imported 426,620 metric tons of poultry meat, 3.78% greater than the earlier 12 months, with Belgium accounting for 0.59% and France 0.01%.
First uploaded on: 09-01-2024 at 16:16 IST
