CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Poultry raisers in Pampanga province will heave a sigh of relief after the Department of Agriculture (DA) allocated P50 million assistance to alleviate the effects of avian flu.
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said the DA has allocated the financial assistance to Pampanga poultry raisers.
Piñol along with veterinarians from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) have checked the culling and clearing operations in Barangays San Carlos and Sta Rita, both in San Luis town where BAI found the H5 avian influenza virus.
Five large poultry farms in San Luis town have been already padlocked and subjected to disinfection since Saturday.
More than 200,000 fowls will be culled.
Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda has appealed to BAI to lift the ban on fowl and eggs from Pampanga noting that not all poultry farms were affected by the avian flu.
“Pineda said the “entire Pampanga is suffering from the stigma. And we want to make it clear that only fowls and birds in two villages in San Luis Pampanga were infected of bird flu.” –Jess Malabanan