The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned the importation of domestic and wild birds from France due to the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu.

This after the Directrice générale adjointe et Cheffe des Services vétérinaires of France indicated in their report to the World Organization for Animal Health, dated 12 August an outbreak of H5 (N untyped) HPAI in Saint-Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne.

Under Memorandum Order 40 signed by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. last Friday, poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen from France are prohibited from entering the Philippines.

Moreover, the DA immediately suspended the processing and evaluation of applications and the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for France’s inward shipment of the said commodities.

Meat shipments that were loaded, in transit, or accepted on or before the official communication of the order to the French authorities are, however, allowed entry into the country, provided that the products were slaughtered or produced on or before 25 July 2024.

Meanwhile, shipments that have not complied with these conditions shall be dealt with accordingly, said the DA.

Veterinary quarantine officers and inspectors at major ports of entry were ordered to confiscate all shipments of the stated commodities except heat-treated products. The order is effective immediately.