The Department of Agriculture has lifted the ban on the shipment of poultry and other poultry products from areas within the 7-kilometer avian influenza controlled zones in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija.
With the DA’s new memorandum circular in effect, poultry operators and owners within the controlled zones are now back to business on condition that all products must be validated by the department’s quarantine officers and must carry all needed certifications.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol said the disinfection operations and the 21-day incubation of the areas concerned were already done.
“The only restriction is on ground zero or those located in the one-kilometer radius because we have a 90-day waiting period,” he said.
Following international protocols, DA-attached agency Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) will now be deploying sentinel birds to the affected farms to determine whether the virus is still present in the area.
If the test shows negative results, with no signs of the flu in the sentinel birds, quarantine restrictions in the affected areas will also be lifted after 90 days.
It’s only then that the agency can declare the area bird flu-free.
The DA earlier imposed a temporary ban on the movement of live domestic and wild birds and their products, including chicks, eggs, and manure from Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao as a precaution to prevent the spread of the virus.
This was lifted after Pinol held consultations with BAI officials and poultry owners and operators who cited billions of pesos in losses they have incurred.