The Department of Agriculture (DA) in the Philippines has issued a temporary ban on the importation of wild and domesticated birds, as well as poultry products from Michigan, USA, due to concerns over bird flu. This decision, announced on Wednesday, aims to protect the local poultry industry from the highly contagious H591 flu outbreak in Michigan.
The DA memorandum, signed on June 7, specifies that the suspension includes the importation of poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen. The rapid spread of the virus in Michigan prompted US authorities to implement broad trade restrictions, which influenced the DA’s decision to enhance measures to safeguard the Philippine poultry population.
To enforce this ban, the DA stated that any noncompliant products entering the Philippines will be confiscated, destroyed, returned to their country of origin, or redirected to a third country.
