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The Department of Agriculture is allowing poultry imports from areas in the United Kingdom that have been declared free from the High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) in line with the Philippine’s regionalization policy
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The DA formally codified through Department Circular No. 17 its existing practice of recognizing HPAI-free zones in the UK for poultry imports
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The regionalization policy has been in place since 2024; the circular makes it official
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Regionalization allows trade to continue from disease-free zones even when outbreaks occur elsewhere in the same country
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The Bureau of Animal Industry confirmed the UK maintains veterinary oversight and poses a low risk of importing infected products from approved zones
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Covered products include live birds, day-old chicks, hatching eggs, and poultry meat
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is allowing poultry imports from areas in the United Kingdom that have been declared free from the High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) in line with the Philippine’s regionalization policy.
Agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has signed Department Circular No. 17 to institutionalize the bilateral recognition of HPAI-free zones in the UK, the DA announced.
The move is grounded on a risk-based framework known as regionalization, which permits trade to continue from specific disease-free areas of a country even when outbreaks are recorded in other parts of its territory.
The Bureau of Animal Industry, responsible for the evaluation supporting the circular, determined that the UK maintains sufficiently “robust veterinary oversight and effective mitigation measures” to keep the risk of importing infected products from approved zones at a low level.
The circular covers a broad range of products: live birds, both poultry and non-poultry, day-old chicks, hatching eggs, and poultry meat, provided all originate from UK zones certified as free of HPAI.
“Regionalization gives us flexibility in sourcing food while maintaining strict safeguards,” Tiu Laurel said. “This strengthens food security by ensuring a steady and safe supply of poultry products for Filipino consumers, even when animal disease outbreaks occur abroad.”
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The circular builds on the UK’s existing accreditation to export poultry products to the Philippines and is consistent with DA Administrative Circular No. 09, series of 2025, which lays out the guidelines for recognizing disease-free zones in partner countries.
All imports will continue to be governed by agreed bilateral terms and conditions, as well as existing DA regulations on animal health and food safety.
The circular takes effect 15 days after publication on the DA’s official website and upon filing with the Office of the National Administrative Register at the University of the Philippines Law Center in Diliman, Quezon City.
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