- GILBERT BAYORAN
Operatives of the Provincial African Swine Fever (ASF) Task Force confiscated more shipments of pork-related products from Iloilo, Cebu, and Manila, that entered through various ports of Negros Occidental.
From Oct. 15 to 19, Provincial Veterinarian, Dr. Placeda Lemana, reported that about 666 kilos of pork-related products were confiscated by quarantine inspectors.
Lemana told DYHB that some of those intercepted were shipped back to their ports of origin.
A joint ASF Task Force was formed by the city government of Bacolod and the provincial government of Negros Occidental to enforce the ban on swine and pork products from ASF-affected areas.
Negros Occidental, which is ASF-free, bans the entry of live pigs and pork products from Panay and Guimaras, following the detection of an ASF case in Oton, Iloilo.
Since September 2019, Negros Occidental has prohibited the entry of pigs, pork, and pork products from Luzon, Mindanao, and Eastern Visayas, all of which have confirmed cases of the swine disease.
Negros Occidental, which has a P6-billion swine industry, is the top backyard hog producer in the country./GB
