Bacolod City – Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson recently ordered all local chief executives in Negros Occidental to further strengthen the implementation of biosecurity measures in poultry and game fowl farms, in connection with outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Luzon and Mindanao.
It is necessary to continuously strengthen our animal industry biosecurity program in order to protect the multibillion poultry and game fowl industry of Negros Occidental, Lacson, in his memorandum circular issued to all mayors said.
What is at stake here is the ₱ 8 billion game fowl industry of the province, aside from the poultry industry, Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Renante Decena added.
Pursuant to Section 16 of the Local Government Code, Lacson said he ordered the registration, inspection and monitoring of all game fowl and poultry farms by the Provincial Veterinarian Office, implementation of strict veterinary quarantine procedures in farms whenever necessary, immediate reporting of any unusual cases of poultry diseases, and submission of laboratory samples for avian flu testing.
Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, is a disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza (flu) Type A viruses, that spreads among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species.
On the other hand, Decena said the supply of chicken in Negros Occidental is expected to remain stable up to the end of the year, noting also that contrary to claims, there has been no significant change in prices.
Based on their monitoring, Decena said the price of chicken in Bacolod City is ₱ 215 while it is ₱ 240 in Victorias City and ₱ 280 in the northern and southern areas of Negros Occidental as of last week.
In fact, he added, that there is an oversupply in the province, although in other provinces such as Cebu and Mindanao have problems with regulations because of the bird flu.
Western Visayas has no problem with supply because of adequate supply of free-range chickens, such as white or colored chickens known as native chickens, Decena said.
He reported that Negros Occidental consumes 2.5 million chickens annually.
Bacolod City consumes 40,000 chickens while the province consumes 30,000 chickens daily, which we are able to supply, Decena further said. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)