TO protect its poultry industry, the Philippines, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), has banned the importation of birds and poultry products from the Netherlands following a bird flu outbreak.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced the import freeze on Friday, citing a report from Dutch veterinary authorities to the World Organization for Animal Health on October 8, 2025. The report detailed an outbreak of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the municipality of Aa en Hunze, Drenthe, which infected domestic birds on October 6, 2025.
Acting on the recommendation of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), Secretary Tiu Laurel issued Memorandum Order No. 68, aiming to safeguard the country’s poultry population and prevent the introduction of the HPAI virus. He emphasized the importance of the poultry industry to the Philippines’ food security, investments, and employment.
The import suspension covers a range of poultry products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and even semen used for artificial insemination of breeders originating from the Netherlands.
Secretary Tiu Laurel also directed the BAI to immediately suspend the processing and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for all poultry commodities from the Netherlands.
Under Memorandum Order No. 68, shipments from the Netherlands that were already in transit, loaded, or accepted at ports before the import ban took effect will be permitted entry, provided that the products were slaughtered or produced on or before September 22, 2025.
However, all covered shipments arriving after the ban will be confiscated by veterinary quarantine officers at ports of entry, with the exception of heat-treated products.
This is not the first time the Philippines has taken this measure. In December 2024, the DA halted the importation of birds and poultry products from the Netherlands due to a previous bird flu outbreak. That ban was lifted in May of this year.
metrosundaily
