ILOILO – The consumption of meat in Western Visayas is not affected by the African swine flu (ASF) incidents in Luzon, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
There has been no slump in demand, stressed DA Region 6 chief agriculturist Jonic Natividad, and here is also no shortage of beef and pork.
There is enough supply, too, stressed Natividad, despite DA’s Administrative Order (AO) No. 4 that prohibits the entry of “live animals, meat and meat byproducts unless accompanied by the required Veterinary Health Certificate from a licensed veterinarian and a relevant shipping requisites from the Bureau of Animal Industry.”
According to the National Meat Inspection Service, ASF is a highly contagious viral disease that affects pigs, warthogs, and boars. There is no known vaccine against it.
ASF causes pigs to have high fever and lose their appetite. It also causes hemorrhages in the skin and internal organs.
Pigs die within two to 10 days upon affliction.
DA issued AO No. 4 to protect the public from the ASF that has been detected in the provinces of Bulacan and Rizal.
According to Natividad, some meat producers in the region are even supplying other provinces such as Cebu and those in Mindanao.
“Most of the time kita gani ang nagapagwa sang baboy kay damo kita supply,” he stressed.
Western Visayas is No. 3 among the country’s provinces with the most number of cattle and swine backyard raisers, Natividad further said.
“Amo na ang ginahalongan naton,” he stressed.
He urged the public, especially those engaged in the meat business, to follow the requirements in AO No. 4:
* Veterinary Health Certificate and veterinary shipping permit
* livestock handler’s permit
* livestock and poultry transport / carrier certificate
* certificate of vehicle registration
* disinfection clearance
* farm registration
AO No. 4 also bans meat and its byproducts from countries with ASF (Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Luxembourg, Belgium, Bulgaria, Moldova, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, South Korea, and China)./PN
