The Philippines’ Department of Agriculture (DA) declared on Friday that it has temporarily banned the import of all wild and domestic birds, as well as poultry products, from the Netherlands due to a new outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza.
The ban covers poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and even semen used for artificial insemination, the DA stated.
The ban follows a report by Dutch veterinary authorities to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) on October 8, confirming an H5N1 outbreak that affected domestic birds in Aa en Hunze, Drenthe, on October 6.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel issued the suspension following a recommendation from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
Tiu Laurel emphasized that the poultry industry plays a vital role in ensuring food security and serves as an important source of investment and employment. He also instructed the Bureau of Animal Industry to halt the processing and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for poultry products originating from the Netherlands.
According to Memorandum Order No. 68, shipments that were already en route, loaded, or received at ports prior to the implementation of the order may still enter the country, as long as the poultry products were slaughtered or manufactured on or before September 22.
Veterinary quarantine officers will seize all shipments that arrive after the ban takes effect, except heat-treated poultry products.
The DA had previously suspended poultry imports from the Netherlands in December 2024 following a bird flu outbreak, a restriction that was lifted in May 2025.
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