THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it lifted the temporary ban on poultry and poultry product imports from the US states of Illinois and Wisconsin, while imposing a ban on shipments from Kansas due to avian influenza outbreaks there.

In a statement on Sunday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the order follows updated animal health reports showing Illinois and Wisconsin no longer meet the threshold for state-wide trade restrictions.

Meanwhile, poultry imports from Kansas are temporarily banned after the US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reported on Jan. 19 that several outbreaks of H5N1 HPAI were confirmed in multiple counties across the state, breaching the three-county threshold.

The DA said the temporary restriction is necessary to protect the Philippine poultry industry.

“Our priority is food security, but that cannot come at the expense of public health or the safety of our local poultry population. The poultry sector represents billions in investments and supports thousands of jobs, especially in rural communities,” Mr. Laurel said.

All imports of domestic and wild birds and their products from Kansas, including poultry meat, eggs, day-old chicks, and semen, are prohibited. Only shipments already in transit and produced on or before Dec. 19 may enter, provided they meet strict documentation requirements, the DA said. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel