December 10, 2025

Philippines imposes import ban on domestic and wild birds from Belgium

The Philippines' Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered another temporary import ban on animal products — this time on domestic and wild birds from Belgium, following an outbreak of H5N1 high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, in that country.

The ban — which Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. issued through Memorandum Order 73, series of 2025 — took effect December 1 and is valid until revoked in writing.

Belgium's national public health institute, Sciensano, confirmed the bird flu outbreak following veterinary authorities' report to the World Organization for Animal Health of an outbreak affecting domestic birds in the city of Diksmuide in West-Vlaanderen province Belgium on October 21.

The DA order covers entry restrictions on poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen, and suspension of the processing, evaluation, and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for the aforementioned commodities.

Veterinary quarantine officers and inspectors are directed to stop and confiscate all shipments of the prohibited commodities at all major ports of entry.

However, exempted from the ban are heat-treated products, provided that their veterinary health certificate includes temperature and duration of heating or pasteurisation, and that these have not been exposed to other materials of animal origin.

Likewise allowed are shipments in transit, loaded, or accepted in ports on or before the ban took effect, so long as the products were slaughtered or produced on or before October 7. 

- The Manila Times