HOGS ready for transport. (Tara Yap)
ILOILO CITY — Four provinces in Western Visayas temporarily banned the trading and transporting of live hogs, pork, and any of its by-products as new cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) were detected.
The provincial governments of Aklan, Antique, and Guimaras banned live hogs and pork products from Capiz and Negros Occidental provinces where there are confirmed ASF cases.
The ban also covered Iloilo province where there are suspected ASF cases with reported hog deaths. Samples were taken and awaiting confirmatory tests from the regional laboratory of the Department of Agriculture-6.
Governors Jose Enrique “Joen” Miraflores of Aklan, Paolo Javier of Antique, Maria Lucille Nava of Guimaras, and Fredenil Castro of Capiz imposed bans to curb the spread of ASF in their provinces.
Among the measures undertaken were border control checkpoints and strengthening of veterinary quarantine and biosecurity protocols.
An ASF outbreak was reported in 2023 and 2024 in Western Visayas, which is among the top hog-raising regions in the country.