Philippines Suspends Imports of Cattle, Buffalo from France, Italy

(MENAFN) The Philippines has suspended imports of live cattle, water buffalo, and related animal products from France and Italy after confirmed outbreaks of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD), the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced Monday.

The temporary ban, outlined in official memorandum orders dated August 1, includes not only live animals but also by-products such as embryos and semen.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) clarified that certain products are exempt from the ban, including salt-treated hides, meat meals (excluding skeletal muscle and bones), gelatin, collagen, tallow, horns, hooves, and pasteurized dairy products. Specifically, items such as blood meal and flour, meat products other than skeletal muscle or bones, casings, gelatin, collagen, tallow, hooves, horns, and milk or dairy products that have been pasteurized are not covered by the restriction.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel stressed the urgency of the measure, describing it as a necessary precaution to protect the country’s livestock sector. He said the move is aimed at preventing the spread of lumpy skin disease (LSD), a highly contagious viral illness that mainly affects cattle and water buffalo.

The disease was confirmed in Italy on July 18, following an earlier outbreak in France on June 23. In response, the Philippine government acted quickly to impose the ban, which will remain in place indefinitely while efforts to contain and eradicate the disease in affected countries are ongoing, the DA said.

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