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MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has suspended the importation of animals susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) from Germany to prevent the virus from entering the Philippines.

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The DA imposed the temporary import ban by issuing Memorandum Order No. 8 after the European country reported FMD cases last month.

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“There is a need to prevent the entry of the FMD virus to protect the health of the FMD- susceptible animal population,” the memo read.

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This law mandates a quarterly tax on foreign DSPs such as video streaming platforms, mobile applications, online advertising spaces, search engine services, and social networks, among others.

The DA promulgated the memo even if the Philippines is FMD-free without vaccination, which the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) recognized in 2014.

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Following the issuance of this order, the DA immediately suspended the processing, evaluation and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for the commodities mentioned above.

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Local authorities will allow the entry of shipments from Germany that are in transit, loaded or accepted unto port before the official communication of the DA order to German authorities, provided these were slaughtered or produced on or before Dec. 26, 2024 and tested negative for FMD upon arrival at the port of entry.

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The import ban covers skeletal muscle meat, casings, tallow, hooves and horns as well as well as live swine, bovines, and water buffaloes (family Suidae, family Bovidae, family Cervidae), including semen.

Ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk and derivatives thereof, and heat-treated meat products in a hermetically sealed container with a F0 value of 3 or above are exempt from temporary restrictions, subject to the country’s import terms and conditions.

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Also excluded are protein meal, gelatine, in vivo-derived bovine embryos, limed hides, pickled pelts and semi-processed leather.

The agency issued the directive as Germany informed the WOAH of cases of FMD virus in Hoppegarten, a municipality in the district Markisch-Oderland in Brandenburg in domestic buffaloes.

According to the WOAH, FMD is a severe, highly contagious viral disease with a significant impact on one’s economy. While the virus is rarely fatal in adult animals, it often causes high mortality in young animals due to myocarditis or, when the dam is infected by the disease, lack of milk.

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Germany is among the exporters of meat to the archipelagolakers88, with exports totaling 3.15 million kg as of November last year, all beef, data from the Bureau of Animal Industry showed.

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