QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — Cotabato 3rd District Board Member Socrates Piñol has proposed the establishment of animal quarantine check-points in the province to prevent the spread of bird flu outbreak in North Cotabato.
Piñol said that checkpoints should be established in the various entry points of the province as well as in the railroads to prevent the negative impact of a bird flu outbreak to the poultry industry in North Cotabato.
“Although geographically, Cotabato is too far from Pampanga but nobody could tell if the poultry products that have entered in our area are free from the virus,” said Pinol.
The Department of Agriculture on August 11 declared the first case of bird flu outbreak in the country in San Luis, Pampanga. Eight days after the outbreak in Pampanga, Agriculture Secretary Manuel also confirmed the spread in two farms in Nueva Ecija, particularly in the towns of Jaen and San Isidro
After placing the provinces of Pampanga and Nueva Ecija, Piñol on Monday, August 22 declared that the culling of some 208,000 poultry products in San Luis, Pampanga has completed, almost 10 days after the outbreak.