PNA file photo
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – Pangasinan’s provincial government is implementing a temporary ban on the entry of ducks into the province from July 12 to September 30 to safeguard its poultry industry and protect the general public from the ill effects of bird flu.
In Executive Order 103 posted on Thursday, Governor Ramon Guico III said the reported incidents in neighboring provinces have prompted the provincial government to impose a temporary ban.
“There were reported confirmed cases of avian influenza (bird flu) in the neighboring provinces, such as Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Benguet, Isabela, and other provinces, such as Laguna, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Maguindanao,” he said.
Guico deputized the provincial veterinarian quarantine officers to install quarantine checkpoints in all possible entry points of quail and duck shippers from all regions, among them the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway and other strategic road lines.
“Farm owners of chicken, turkeys, geese, and other types of poultry products must present a certification that the above-mentioned poultry products, as well as their establishments, are free from avian influenza and Newcastle Disease to be allowed entry into the province,” he said.
Guico also directed the local executives to strengthen biosafety, hygiene, and sanitation standards in slaughterhouses/abattoirs, public markets, and poultry farms in their respective areas of jurisdiction to ensure the safety of their constituents and the poultry industry in the province.
Bird flu is a viral disease that infects domestic poultry and various types of birds, including ducks.
Pangasinan remains free of bird flu as of writing. (PNA)
