The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Thursday it lifted the temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds from six countries affected by avian influenza outbreaks.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. signed a series of memorandum orders authorizing the resumption of poultry imports, including live domestic and wild birds intended for pets or zoos, from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Sweden and the Malaysian states of Kelantan and Sabah.
The import restrictions were imposed earlier due to reported cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in those areas. The DA said the bans were lifted after receiving official reports confirming the resolution of the outbreaks and the absence of new cases.
Based on evaluations by the Bureau of Animal Industry, the DA determined that the risk of importing poultry from the said areas is now negligible. The lifting of the ban officially allows the entry of live domestic and wild birds subject to all existing sanitary and phytosanitary regulations.
“All import transactions of the above commodities shall be in accordance with existing rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture,” the DA said.
