The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned the importation of domestic and wild birds, including poultry products, from Argentina due to a confirmed outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1).
Under Memorandum Order No. 48 signed on September 5, the ban covers poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen for artificial insemination. The measure follows Argentina’s report to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) of an outbreak in northern Buenos Aires on August 17.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. emphasized that the move, in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive, aims to protect food security and public health.
The Bureau of Animal Industry has been ordered to halt all sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for affected products from Argentina.
Bird flu outbreaks have already caused significant economic losses in the local poultry industry, with eight provinces across four regions still affected as of September 10. The DA said it will continue to monitor global developments to protect the country’s poultry sector and public health.
