THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned imports of live animals and selected animal products from seven countries in the Middle East and Europe following confirmed outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).
FMD is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, and buffaloes. It poses no public health or food safety risk to humans, but can severely disrupt livestock production and cause substantial economic losses.
The ban covers Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait and Palestine.
The DA said the measure followed an official report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations confirming outbreaks of FMD virus serotype SAT1. The cases were validated through laboratory testing coordinated with the World Organization for Animal Health’s reference laboratory network.
Under Department Circular 39 signed by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., the Philippines will prohibit imports of live swine, cattle, water buffaloes, and other FMD-susceptible animals from affected areas.
The restrictions also cover fresh skeletal muscle meat, casings, tallow, hooves, horns, and animal semen.
Laurel said the government was taking a science-based, precautionary approach to prevent the disease from entering the country and protect the livestock industry, food security and farmers’ livelihoods.
“While we remain committed to facilitating safe trade, protecting the health of our livestock industry must always come first,” he said.
Products classified by the World Organization for Animal Health as “safe commodities” will remain eligible for importation, subject to veterinary certification and processing requirements.
These include ultra-high temperature milk and dairy products, heat-treated canned meat, protein meal, gelatin, and certain processed hides and leather products.
The DA has instructed veterinary quarantine officers to stop and confiscate prohibited shipments arriving at Philippine ports.
The temporary ban is intended to prevent the introduction and spread of the disease in the Philippines.
Latest Bureau of Animal Industry data showed the country’s meat imports rose 12 percent to 872,274 metric tons in the first half from 778,100 MT a year earlier.
