More quarantine inspectors deployed in Negros ports

BACOLOD CITY: Some eight personnel of the Bureau of Animal Industry ( BAI) Veterinary Quarantine Services in Western Visayas are augmenting the quarantine inspection services in the ports of Negros outbreak in Luzon.

Sulmer Gamarcha, veterinary quarantine inspector of the BAI Veterinary Quarantine Services based at the Bacolod - ployed personnel to the province although they already planned to beef up the presence of their inspectors here even before

Negros Occidental has a huge livestock and poultry industry so there is a need to further strengthen its quarantine measures, Gamarcha said.

In the past two weeks, the eight BAI personnel were assigned to Bacolod-Silay Airport as well as BREDCO port and Banago port in Bacolod, and the seaports in the cities of Escalante and San Carlos.

“We are augmenting the quarantine personnel of the Provincial Veterinary and poultry products especially from Luzon,” Gamarcha said.

So far, the BAI men have yet to intercept violators since the ban on the shipments of poultry from Luzon was enforced.

Quarantine inspectors require shippers to present veterinary certificates and proof that the farm- source of the poultry products, especially in Luzon is accredited.

Inspectors will off-load or return to its origin commodities that do not have shipping permits, Gamarcha added.