By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The provincial board members of Negros Occidental passed a resolution recently asking the Department of Agriculture to temporarily ban the entry of game fowls from Luzon, despite the lift of the shipment ban amid the outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu virus in Central Luzon.
Negros Occidental acting Governor Salvador Escalante said the provincial board acted on the request made by local gamefowl breeders to protect the industry, especially as it is the second biggest in the province next to sugar.
He explained that there is already an existing ban on the entry of fowls including chicken, ducks, eggs, and quails in the province but game fowls were not included in the list. Even in Pampanga where the Avian Flu virus was confirmed, game fowls or fighting cocks are not listed as high-risk fowls.
Escalante explained that the gamefowl industry is apprehensive as it’s already the Stag Derby Season in the province from September to October.
“We don’t want our gamefowl industry to be affected,” Escalante stressed.
He added that quarantine is also observed in airports and seaports in the province, and that fowls that are brought in the province will undergo the three-day quarantine period./WDJ