Bacolod City – More pork-related products have been seized by quarantine inspectors at various ports in Negros Occidental, as the Provincial ASF Task Force remains on heightened alert against the entry of African swine fever in the province.
Negros Occidental, which is ASF-free, is banning the entry of live pigs and pork-related products from Panay and Guimaras, following the detection of an ASF case in Oton, Iloilo.
The province supplies 8,000 to 12,000 heads of swine to other provinces monthly.
From October 15 to 19, Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Placeda Lemana reported that about 666 kilos of pork-related products originating from Iloilo, Cebu and Manila have been confiscated by quarantine inspectors.
Lemana said in a radio interview that some of the intercepted products were shipped back to its point of origin.
Since September 2019, Negros Occidental has prohibited the entry of live pigs, pork and pork products coming from Luzon, Mindanao, and Eastern Visayas, all of which have confirmed cases of the swine flu disease.
Negros Occidental, which has a P6-billion swine industry, is the top backyard hog producer in the country. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star photo by Digicast-Neg)