Davao City bans entry of live birds to protect against bird flu

Stock photo of ducks (File photo by RICHARD REYES / Philippine Daily Inqurier)

DAVAO CITY — The city government here has banned the entry of live birds and their by-products from areas known for having bird flu cases.

Acting Mayor Sebastian Duterte has signed Executive Order No. 19 imposing a temporary ban on “all live domestic and captured wild birds, and their products and by-products, including day old chicks, eggs, semen, manure, and feathers, from Luzon (Mainland Luzon and island provinces of Luzon) and other areas with reported cases of highly-pathogenic avian influenza.”

The city government reported that the executive order resulted from the test conducted by the Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory  of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) in February on birds from Bulacan and Pampanga that were found positive of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 strain, better known as bird flu.

The order also cited two guidelines issued by the Department of Agriculture (DA) in February and March on the movement of wild birds and their products from areas found to have bird flu cases.

READ: DA orders tighter restrictions to halt bird flu outbreak

In signing the order, Duterte cited the bird flu cases in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat, and Magsaysay, Davao del Sur in March and April, respectively.

He said the temporary ban seeks to protect the welfare of the public from the ill effects of bird flu.

The same order also sets parameters for entry of same birds and products from areas where there are no reported cases.

READ: Avian flu hits Davao del Sur town infecting ducks, DA confirms

For game fowls, ducks, pigeons, and captured wild birds; broilers, ready-to-lay pullets, day-old chicks; and for eggs (hatching eggs, table eggs, and embryonated eggs or “balut”), a Veterinary Health Certificate (VHC) issued by a veterinarian and concurred by a veterinarian of a local government unit or the DA’s regional field office is required.

“The VHC  must certify that the birds were sourced from farms with no incidence of Avian Influenza (AI); the birds showed no clinical signs of AI on the day of shipment; the birds were kept in AI-free area at least for the past 21 days; and the birds were transported in new or appropriately sanitized containers,” the order added.

Other requirements include negative laboratory test results for AI; certification that the birds are free of Newcastle Disease; shipping permit, livestock handler’s license, and registration of transport carrier from the BAI.

READ: Ducks culled as bird flu hits Cotabato town

Although the movement of game fowls from the city to other areas is allowed, entry of these fowls into the city is prohibited unless there is a negative test result for the virus.

For those who will bring fresh and frozen meat into the city, they would need a meat inspection certificate  issued by the National Meat Inspection Service, a shipping permit from BAI and that the processing plants must have license to operate or certificate of registration from the Food and Drug Administration. No requirement was set for cooked meat.

Poultry dung, however, is prohibited from entering the city.