Import ban lifted on California poultry

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted a ban on poultry and poultry-products imports from the US state of California, after the easing of bird flu concerns.

In Department Circular No. 21, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said veterinary authorities reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health that all cases of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)  in California had been resolved.

HPAI regionalization agreements with the US entered into in 2016 ban shipments from US states if the disease is active in three or more counties.

The ban was originally imposed via Memorandum Order No. 71 in November 2022, following reports of H5N1 outbreaks affecting domestic birds in California.

The restrictions covered domestic and wild birds as well as their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen. 

The lifting of the ban is expected to stabilize poultry supply and prices.

The DA said it remains committed to monitoring global HPAI developments and enforcing import protocols to protect the poultry industry. — Pierce Oel A. Montalvo