THE Philippine government is set to again impose a temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen, from the United Kingdom.

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), an attached agency of the Agriculture department, disclosed in an interview that it is now drafting a memorandum that will authorize the ban on wild birds and poultry products from the UK. This came after the deadly avian influenza (AI) virus hit a turkey farm in England.

“The temporary ban is a standard precautionary measure that we impose on the importation of wild birds and poultry birds from a bird-flu-infected country,” said BAI officer-in-charge Davinio Catbagan.

Once the temporary ban is officially imposed, the Philippine government will suspend the issuance of veterinary quarantine clearance certificates (VQCS) for the importation of domestic and wild birds, day-old chicks, eggs, semen and other poultry products coming from the UK.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has just lifted the temporary ban on the importation of birds and poultry products from the UK in August 2006 after the country was certified by the Office International des Epizooties that it was already free of the bird-flu virus.

Earlier, the Department of Agriculture (DA) imposed a similar ban on birds and poultry products coming from Japan following the discovery of the presence of the  highly pathogenic AI (HPAI) virus serotype H5 in that country.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations earlier noted that the resurgence of the AI virus in previously infected countries is part of a seasonal pattern.

But FAO noted that the intercontinental spread of the H5N1 virus by wild birds migrating from Asia to Europe and Africa does not seem to be as worrisome as observed this autumn/winter season, which is not at the same level as it had in 2005.

The UN agency, however said, poultry trade and the transport of live birds could still spread the virus.

New cases of avian influenza have recently been detected in China, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Currently, the Philippines remains free of the dreaded bird-flu virus, which has already crippled the poultry industry of neighboring Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

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THE Philippine government is set to again impose a temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen, from the United Kingdom.

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