THE Department of Agriculture (DA) announced plans to relax regulations on transporting hogs from areas with active cases of African swine fever (ASF) to other areas to ensure a stable pork supply throughout the country.
In a series of consultations concluded last Saturday, the department said that refined protocols will govern the movement of healthy pigs from Red Zones amid a resurgence of ASF, particularly in Batangas.
“The government will ease regulation, but we have to make sure only live and healthy pigs are transported, not the infected ones, to avoid the spread of ASF. That’s why it’s important that we ensure infected animals stay in red zones,” DA Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and Regulation Asis Perez said on Monday.
Undersecretary for Livestock Deogracias Victor Savellano and Assistant Secretary for Poultry and Swine Dante Palabrica also met with industry stakeholders and agriculturists from Calabarzon to discuss ways to transport healthy pigs.
Also discussed were measures on how to prevent the spread of ASF in the region, which has had a devastating impact on swine production since 2019.
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