DA bans poultry importation from 3 US states due to bird flu

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned importing poultry from Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania in the United States to prevent the spread of bird flu into the country.

The DA imposed the import restriction effective immediately, even if the Philippines has not recorded new active cases of avian influenza since early January.

The ban covers domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen originating from three American states.

READ: DA agency refining chicken import policy amid bird flu worries

It noted that the “rapid spread” of bird flu in the US in a short period since the first laboratory detection necessitates a wider coverage of trade restrictions to prevent the entry of this virus and protect the health of the local poultry population, the DA said in Memorandum Order No. 14.

The agency ordered the ban after US authorities reported several outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania affecting domestic birds.

“The abovementioned state has three or more counties affected with HPAI as reflected in their official reports in the WOAH (World Organization for Animal Health),” the memo said.

With the import ban in place, the DA immediately suspended the processing, evaluation of the application, and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances to these commodities.

The memo excludes shipments that are in transit, loaded or accepted upon port before transmitting the DA order to American authorities, provided that the products were slaughtered or produced 14 days before the three US states recorded the first outbreak: Jay County in Indiana on Jan. 3; Suffolk County in New York on Jan. 17; and Dauphin County in Pennsylvania on Feb. 4.

All veterinary quarantine officers or inspectors will stop and seize poultry shipments from Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania at all major ports of entry.

Given America’s geographical land, Philippine and US authorities forged an accord in 2016 stipulating that a state-wide ban would only be enforced if at least three counties within a state have HPAI cases.

Ban lifted

In a separate issuance, the DA lifted the import ban on poultry originating from France after informing the WOAH that all bird flu cases have ended with resolved status and no additional outbreaks were recorded after Feb. 4.

Citing its assessment, the DA said, “The risk of contamination from importing live poultry, poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen is negligible,” based on Memorandum Order No. 13.

READ: DA lifts ban on poultry products from France

“The lifting of the ban is expected to ease trade tensions and support the poultry industry, which has been adversely impacted by the restrictions,” the DA said in a statement on Thursday.

The DA made this decision after the Bureau of Animal Industry’s assessment that stated that the disease's containment “appears to have been successful,” it added.

It can be recalled that the agency temporarily barred the entry of poultry from France in September last year following an avian influenza outbreak in Saint-Malo, located in Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, infecting domestic birds.

The Philippines itself is not yet free of bird flu, although no positive cases have been reported since Jan. 4, according to the BAI’s update as of Feb. 28.

Likewise, there are no ongoing. or depopulation and surveillance activities within the 1-kilometer radius in previously reported cases.

To date, 17 provinces have declared bird flu-free: Camarines Sur, Davao del Sur, Rizal, South Cotabato, Ilocos Sur, Batangas, Capiz, Quezon, Aurora, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Cotabato, Isabela, Maguindanao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, Leyte, and Cagayan.

(2025/03/07-10:18)