AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel Piñol has appealed to cockfighting enthusiasts in Pampanga province to temporarily stop cockfighting to prevent the avian influenza outbreak from spreading to the province. A team headed by the Bureau of Animal Industry will be created to inspect all poultry farms in the province, Piñol said. Piñol said that around 600,000 chickens in Pampanga would be culled to help prevent the spread of the H5 avian flu virus. The bird flu outbreak in the country, according to the agriculture chief, only has “minimal effect” on the economy. He also urged poultry farmers from other parts of the country to intensify their production to make for any shortfall caused by the avian flu outbreak in Pampanga.

Source: Manila Times August 17, 2017 05:37 UTC