The Kalinga provincial government has formally closed the borders of the province to the entry of hogs and poultry alike as national authorities have confirmed the presence of both African swine fever (ASF) and avian influenza (AI) in various places across the country.
Kalinga is not the only province to have closed off its borders to animals and animal products this quarter, with Abra province having had to close its own borders to hog imports in July, after the death of more than 200 hogs from confirmed ASF cases.
Recent reports from the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Bureau of Animal Industry-Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory (BAI-ADDRL) in August confirmed ASF cases in 22 different provinces across the country, and AI in three provinces, including Benguet.
According to Kalinga Governor James Edduba, in the Executive Order (EO) issued this week that closed the province’s borders to imports, “it is imperative to employ immediate measures to prevent the spread of animal diseases like ASF and AI to safeguard the livelihoods of hog and poultry raisers, as well as the health of the swine and poultry industries in the province.”
The EO also stipulates that if ASF, AI and other similar diseases are confirmed in areas of the country or the region, the government will be able to issue more temporary bans on imports and animal entry without the need to issue new EOs.
Kalinga’s strict border controls are intended to avoid a repeat of Abra’s situation less than two months ago, when unchecked ASF led to mass hog cullings and deaths in the province, with losses so severe, the provincial government mulled the possibility of declaring a state of calamity to access funds for hog raiser aid.
