DA imposes ban on cattle, meat products from UK

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MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) temporarily banned the entry of live cattle and its by-products from the United Kingdom to prevent the spread of mad cow disease.

The DA has yet to upload a copy of Memorandum Order No. 20 imposing the importation ban on cattle, meat, meat products, bovine processed animal proteins and cattle semen.

But in a statement over the weekend, the DA said the directive aims to avert the spread of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, to protect consumers and the livestock industry valued at P260 billion in the previous year.

READ: PH bans entry of cattle, meat from Brazil

“Mad cow disease can cause fatal nerve damage in cattle and its entry or possible spread in the country could undermine the livestock industry and compromise food safety,” based on the DA order dated May 30.

“Further, it is zoonotic in nature and causes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans manifested through brain shrinkage and deterioration,” it said.

Amid the importation ban, all shipments that are already in transit, loaded or accepted unto port should be allowed, provided that the products were slaughtered or produced on or before April 10, 2024.

The DA said it would implement more stringent inspections of all arrivals of meat and meat by-products derived from cattle, including live animals and bovine processed animal proteins at the ports of entry to ensure only non-infected and safe commodities shall enter the country.

The memo was promulgated as British authorities informed the World Organization for Animal Health of an occurrence of classical strain, C-type BSE detected in South Ayrshire in Scotland on May 10.

The country purchased 273.6 million kilograms of imported meat in the three months ending March this year, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Animal Industry—an increase of 3.1 percent from 265.5 million kg in the same period a year ago.