The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Friday it imposed a temporary ban on the importation of all wild and domestic birds and poultry products from the Netherlands following a new outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
The suspension, ordered to safeguard the country’s poultry population, covers poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen used for artificial insemination of breeders.
The ban comes after Dutch veterinary authorities reported the H5N1 outbreak in Aa en Hunze, Drenthe, on Oct. 6, which affected domestic birds, to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) on Oct. 8.
The suspension was ordered by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. upon the recommendation of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
Tiu Laurel said the poultry sector is crucial for food security and is a key source of investments and employment.
He also directed the BAI to suspend the processing and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for poultry commodities from the Netherlands.
Under Memorandum Order No. 68, shipments already in transit, loaded or accepted at ports before the order took effect will be allowed entry, provided the products were slaughtered or produced on or before Sept. 22, 2025.
All covered shipments arriving after the ban will be confiscated by veterinary quarantine officers at ports of entry, with the exception of heat-treated products.
The DA also suspended poultry imports from the Netherlands in December 2024 due to a bird flu outbreak, a ban that was lifted in May 2025.
