DA reimposes import ban on poultry products from South Dakota

DA reimposes import ban on poultry products from South Dakota

/ 02:01 PM January 23, 2025

DA reimposes import ban on poultry products from South Dakota

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Updated on January 24, 2025 at 2:24 p,m,

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has reimposed an import ban on poultry products from South Dakota in the United States after receiving reports of outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza.

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According to the Memorandum Order (MO) No. 4 signed by DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday, the ban covered the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen.

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READ: DA bans US poultry products

In a statement on Thursday, Tiu Laurel said that the import ban “is intended to prevent the entry of bird flu virus to protect the health of the local poultry industry.”

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The secretary also said that US veterinary authorities confirmed reports on December 17, 2024 of several outbreaks of the influenza virus that is affecting domestic birds in South Dakota. The National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa confirmed the presence of bird flu.

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Tiu Laurel then ordered the Bureau of Animal Industry to suspend the processing and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for the importation of domestic and wild birds and their poultry products.

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The MO also said that the transit to local ports before the issuance of the order to US authorities is allowed, given that the poultry products were slaughtered or produced on or before November 13, 2024.

READ: DA lifts import ban on poultry products from California, South Dakota

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In August 2024, the agency lifted import restrictions from South Dakota and California. The import ban was issued to South Dakota in November 2023 after logging cases of bird flu.

The MO also noted that the veterinary authorities of the US and the Philippines entered an agreement in 2016 “that a state-wide ban shall only be imposed if there are three (3) or more counties affected with HPAI [Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza] in one state.”

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It added that South Dakota has three or more counties affected with the HPAI based on the reports of the World Organization for Animal Health.

Wider trade restriction

The DA said the rapid spread of bird flu in the US in a short period since its first laboratory detection necessitates a wider coverage of trade restriction to avoid the spread of this animal disease and protect the local industry. The Philippines and the US forged a regionalization agreement in 2016 wherein a state-wide ban will only be imposed if at least three American states are infected with avian influenza. America, the country’s second-largest supplier of imported meat, exported 204.204 million kilograms of meat as of November last year, based on the data from the Bureau of Animal Industry. The volume is equivalent to 15.3 percent of the 1.33 billion kg of meat sourced from abroad during the period. Earlier, the DA lifted the temporary ban on importing foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) susceptible animals, their products and by-products originating from Russia after more than a decade as the country is free of FMD. The DA first imposed the ban in 2013 after Russia authorities confirmed the FMD outbreak in Molodezhny affecting cattle, sheep, goat and swine. Citing reports from the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in the Republic of the Philippines and the World Organisation of Animal Health, the DA noted that Russia is FMD-free without vaccination. Per the WOAH, a country or zone is considered free from FMD where vaccination is not practiced if there is no infection for at least 12 months and appropriate surveillance is implemented. Avian influenza is a highly contagious viral disease that affects both domestic and wild birds, the WOAH said. It is caused by viruses divided into multiple subtypes whose genetic characteristics rapidly evolve. On the other hand, FMD is a severe, highly contagious viral disease with a significant impact on one’s economy. The WOAH said while the disease is rarely fatal in adult animals, it often causes high mortality in young animals due to myocarditis or, when the dam is infected by the disease, lack of milk.
TAGS: Department of Agriculture (DA), poultry

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