The City Veterinary Office (CVO) has confiscated more than a thousand kilos of hog products since the banning of pork-related products in entering the city was implemented more than a week ago.
“In the checkpoints, there are meat products that came from other municipalities without proper documents, so we have to seize them,” CVO Animal Prevention and Control section chief Grace Pallar said during the I-speak media forum on Thursday at City Hall.
The meat products were confiscated due to incomplete documents required for meat products to enter the city. These meat were confiscated immediately at the city’s entry points.
But Pallar said that none of the confiscated meat products came from Luzon or other African Swine Fever (ASF) affected areas.
She said that the city, in coordination with the Task Force Davao, is still on strict monitoring of all possible entries of pork in the city.
“We became more vigilant after Executive Order 39 was released,” she said. Mayor Sara Duterte issued the order to ban the entry of swine from Luzon and other identified ASF-affected areas a week ago.
Pallar added that a checkpoint is also implemented at the Sta. Ana Pier to prevent possible entries of animals in the city. This is in addition to the three checkpoints in the city’s land entry points.
She also clarified that only meats from Luzon are temporarily banned. Meats from the region can still be enter the city as long as they have the required documents.
Pallar said there is no possibility that the city will have shortage of hogs products because it has sufficient supply.
“We need not worry on the pork supplies in the city, we have enough supplies,” Pallar said.
She also negated fears that the pork ban will result in price increase.
“Sixty percent of our (hog) sources came from backyard raisers, and we have many swine farms in Mindanao. That is a lot of supplies, and we are fortunate with that,” she added.
