Agriculture department stops cattle imports from Spain
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned cattle imports from Spain after a lumpy skin disease (LSD) outbreak in the European country.
The ban applies to buffalo, their products and by-products, including embryos, skin and semen. This is according to DA Memorandum Order No. 66 dated Oct. 10.
“There is a need to prevent the entry of LSD virus to protect the health of the local cattle and water buffalo population,” the memo states.
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The covers the importation of raw hides of bovines, but it excludes skeletal muscle meat, casings, gelatine and collagen, tallow, hooves, and horns since these are considered “safe commodities.”
The memo also excludes milk and milk products; meal and flour from blood, meat other than skeletal muscle, or bones from bovines and water buffaloes; processed hides of bovines and water buffaloes; and other products of bovines and water buffaloes, subject to certain requirements.
The DA implemented the import restriction as Spanish authorities informed the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) of an LSD outbreak in Cataluña on Oct. 1.
Infectious disease
According to the WOAH, LSD is an infectious disease with significant impacts on animal health and welfare, specifically in cattle and water buffalo.
“The disease in cattle is characterized by fever, nodules on the skin, mucous membranes and internal organs, emaciation, enlarged lymph nodes, oedema of the skin, decreased fertility, and in some cases may result in death,” the WOAH said in its website.
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Meanwhile, the DA promulgated separate issuances lifting the temporary ban on importing domestic and wild birds from Turkey, Romania, and Argentina.
The agency lifted the moratorium after their respective authorities told the WOAH that the reported case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) had ended with a resolved status and no additional outbreaks were recorded.
The issuances said the risk of contamination from importing poultry from Turkey, Romania, and Argentina “is negligible.” /rwd
