By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Department of Agriculture (D.A.) Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. issued a memorandum Order No. 20, s. 2025 on Monday, April 7, imposing a temporary ban on the import of both wild and domestic birds from Belgium after the European country reported an outbreak of bird flu.
Belgian veterinary authorities had earlier informed the World Organisation for Animal Health of an H5N1 High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza outbreak in Sint-Niklaas, Oost-Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen, which was detected among domestic birds on February 17.
Apart from wild and domestic birds, the ban also covers avian products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen.
The Agriculture chief further ordered the immediate suspension of the processing and evaluation of applications for sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for these agricultural goods, citing the critical role of the domestic poultry industry in ensuring a stable food supply and a source of income for its stakeholders.
Shipments from Belgium that were in transit, loaded, or accepted at the port before the official communication of the import ban will be allowed entry, provided the products were slaughtered or produced before February 3 of this year.
Shipments not meeting these conditions will either be sent back to Belgium, shipped to a third country, or seized and destroyed. Veterinary quarantine officers are required to confiscate all non-compliant shipments, except for heat-treated products.
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