Philippines ban poultry imports from Germany and France

 

 

The Philippine government has suspended imports of live birds and poultry products from Germany and from the village of Saint Aubin du Plain in France.

 

The Agriculture Department cited the outbreak of non-lethal low pathogenic bird flu in the two areas as the reason for the import ban.

 

The ban covers domestic and wild birds, poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from St. Aubin du Plain and Germany.

France reported an outbreak in a duck farm in St. Aubin du Plain on November 16. The same bird flu strain was detected in a bird farm in the state of Thuringen in Germany on November 19.

The government said there is a need to prevent the entry of the low-pathogenic bird flu virus to protect the health of the local poultry population.

The Agriculture Department will immediately suspend the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of veterinary quarantine clearance for imports.

The Philiippines, Singapore and Brunei are the only bird-flu free countries in Southeast Asia, said the Agriculture Department.

The department has set up more than 625 bird flu task forces while conducting community-based workshops to raise public awareness over the risks still posed by the bird flu virus, despite the higher profile of AH1N1.

Last year, the Philippines imported 994,275kg of poultry and poultry products from France, and 112,274kg from Germany, according to data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics.