By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Negros Occidental Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) said they recorded a drop in the number of African swine fever (ASF)-related apprehensions.

PVO officer-in-charge Dr. Placeda Lemana said yesterday that from January 16 to 22, they confiscated a total of 79 kilograms, or an estimated P53,000 worth, of pork and pork by-products at the BREDCO and Banago ports in Bacolod City, and at the animal quarantine checkpoints in Kabankalan City and Hinoba-an town.

Lemana said they are also on guard against poultry products coming from other provinces.

Last week, the PVO seized P74,000 worth of poultry products at the BREDCO Port and in Kabankalan.

As of now, Lemana said the province remains ASF and avian flu-free, as its entry could prove disastrous to the province’s food production capabilities./DGB, WDJ