BAI head worried about smuggling of exotic birds

ANGELES CITY — The head of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has expressed concern over reports of smuggling of exotic birds, which are potential carriers of the fatal avian flu virus, particularly at the waterfronts of General Santos City and Davao.

Dr. Divino Catbagan, BAI officer-in-charge, meanwhile, told The STAR that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has included the Philippines in the list of countries which will receive funds from its $24-million allocation for anti-bird flu measures although the country still has no bird flu case.

"We are glad about this one as we intend to launch after All Saints’ Day an anti-bird flu information blitzkrieg all over Mindanao within two weeks," he said.

Catbagan said government teams are on alert not only in airports and seaports, but also in non-traditional points of entry, particularly in Mindanao.

"There have been persistent reports of smuggling of exotic birds (from countries with bird flu cases) in Mindanao, particularly General Santos and Davao," he said.

Catbagan discouraged the public from buying exotic birds as pets, warning that such smuggled fowls would be immediately seized if caught at ports of entry.

He said the government is concentrating on 20 hot spots, where migratory birds seek refuge this time of the year.

Government teams have been dispatched to these areas, he said.

Catbagan said the government has also imposed a ban on moving domestic ducks from one area to another.

"No ducks can be moved without their blood samples being examined first and without any shipping permit from the BAI," he said, noting that duck raisers usually transport their fowls even to other provinces where natural food for them are abundant.

Mayor Jerry Pelayo of Candaba, Pampanga said various government agencies, in coordination with local government units and non-government groups, are set to hold simultaneous caravans nationwide next month to increase public awareness of the threat of bird flu.

He said the caravan will start in Pampanga and will wind up at the Rizal Park in Manila.

"We have to make the people aware that they, too, must be part of the campaign to prevent the entry of bird flu into the country," he said. — With Sheila Crisostomo