2 Leyte mayors bar entry of chickens due to avian flu

Leyte. INQUIRER FILES

TACLOBAN CITY — At least two local governments in Leyte have put up border controls to avert the spread of the influenza virus or H5N1 that hit a poultry farm in Kananga town, Leyte.

Mayors of Palompon and Matag-ob recently signed separate executive orders restricting the entry of chickens from Kananga to their localities.

Mayor Ramon Oñate of Palompon expressed hopes that by barring chickens from Kananga, their town would be spared from avian flu.

There was still a possibility that the virus could affect other areas, he said, contrary to claims by the Department of Agriculture (DA) that the avian flu had been contained.

READ: Southern Leyte bans entry of poultry products from Luzon

He said he was dismayed that the DA officials did not inform him about the avian flu as he learned about it only through social media.

The Palompon mayor owns DBSN, the biggest poultry farm in Eastern Visayas with about 50,000 chickens killed daily for commercial use.

On March 25, the DA confirmed the presence of avian flu in Leyte, particularly at the Leyte Poultry Development Corp.

The management reported to the DA regional office that it has culled 60,000 chickens to stop the disease.

Mayor Bernardino Tacoy of Matag-ob town also issued an executive order barring entry of chickens from Kananga and even from other areas to protect their poultry industry.

Vaccination of chicken across the town would also be conducted to protect their chicken from getting the virus.

Tacoy said around 400 chickens from a poultry farm in their town were reported to have died.

“But this remains to be suspected of avian flu cases as we await inspections from the Provincial Veterinary Office. Perhaps, it could be due to the intense heat we are experiencing right now,” the mayor said.

Owners of live chickens who have a sanitary permit from their respective veterinary office would be allowed entry to Matag-ob.

Tacoy also suspended indefinitely the holding of cockfights in the town to help prevent the spread of the virus.