POULTRY RAISING. Darag native chickens are being raised at the Silliman Farm in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental for livelihood distribution. The Bureau of Animal Industry in the province said on Tuesday (May 31, 2022) that local chicken raisers cannot ship out their products in the absence of a laboratory that will do tests to prevent the spread of bird flu. (PNA file photo by Judy Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) in Negros Oriental on Tuesday said poultry raisers cannot ship out live or ready-to-lay chickens in the absence of a laboratory here that will do tests as required by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to prevent the spread of bird flu.
Dr. Alfonso Tundag, quarantine officer of the BAI-Negros Oriental, said even if the province remains free of avian influenza or bird flu, it is still covered by the DA policy restricting the movement of chickens and other poultry products.
“The restriction, imposed early this month, remains until June 11 nationwide and so poultry raisers here have no choice but to sell their chickens only in the local market because we do not have a laboratory here for testing,” Tundag said in mixed English and Cebuano.
The province will also not allow the entry of chickens and other poultry animals and products from other places unless they have undergone the required laboratory tests and given clearances.
Tundag reiterated that the ban in Negros Oriental against chickens and other fowls from areas reported to have bird flu outbreaks also remains in effect.
Recent media reports say bird flu outbreaks were monitored in Pampanga, Bulacan, Camarines Sur, Sultan Kudarat, and Davao. (PNA)
