TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) — Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado has ordered an immediate moratorium of boar-for-hire activities and required the accreditation of hog traders in Bohol to contain the pockets of animal disease occurrences that have affected family farms here.
Aumentado’s Executive Order No. 57 series of 2024 came after composite teams from the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPV) doing disease investigation and surveillance noted that boar-for-hire operations and their continued activities have caused the recent pig disease outbreak in central Bohol.
The first case of the virus incursion that caused the depopulation of over a hundred pigs was reported in Barangay San Vicente San Miguel last month.
Before the authorities could declare the San Vicente incident as contained, another incident of pigs dying was reported in Poblacion Sur Batuan.
The OPV composite team led by veterinarians implemented the Department of Agriculture’s Memorandum Circular No 10. Series of 2019 and Administrative Order No. 22 series of 2020, which calls for quarantine procedures and protocols to contain the virus and disinfect them before the infection can spread to other areas.
Aumentado also ordered the release of indemnification funds for the pig owners whose animals were sacrificed in the depopulation.
During the recent Kapihan sa PIA, Dr. Domino Bayron of the OPV said they have sent the last blood samples collected from Poblacion Sur to the regional laboratory for confirmation.
Bayron said the samples have earlier undergone a gold standard test in the DA POCKIT veterinary analyzer and tested negative.
He said their subsequent disease investigation showed that boar-for-hire operations and activities, as well as continued smuggling of contaminated meat in processed food, rank high among the causes of local infection.
Bohol has also set up an Inspectorate Team to augment the port inspection teams doing the manual checking of hand-carried baggage in case somebody attempts to smuggle pork or its processed products.
“This Inspectorate and Inspection Team randomly goes around inspecting establishments selling processed pork and its products, to confiscate suspected and undocumented contaminated products, if only to keep these products from further contaminating Bohol,” said OPV supervising agriculturist Romulo Garcia during the Kapihan.
The moratorium also reboots the system and Capitol would now require the boar-for-hire operators to undergo training for biosecurity, as they have the biggest potential for spreading the fatal hog disease if they do not practice bio-security measures.
This also means boar-for-hire operators need to register and be accredited with the Office of the Governor.
The governor also issued Executive Order No 58, series of 2024, which now requires the accreditation of all hog traders doing business in Bohol.
It has been observed that hog traders cut across various municipal jurisdictions to buy live pigs without disinfecting their motor vehicles or practice biosecurity measures.
Consistent with the efforts to curb the spread of the virus, the governor’s accreditation order would ensure that hog traders or boar-for-hire operators are equipped to disinfect their livestock transport vehicles, implement bio-security measures in livestock business establishments, stockyards, display areas and farms and ensure compliance of the required ASF laboratory tests.(RAHC/PIA-7 Bohol)
