Photo courtesy of PNA.
The Antique Provincial Veterinary Office has tightened border controls in the northern part of the province after raising a red alert against African swine fever.
Provincial veterinary official Marco Rafael Ardamil said the stricter measure started on June 20 at the Antique-Aklan border.
He said cargo trucks that delivered hogs or live weight animals to Capiz were no longer allowed to reenter Antique through the border.
Ardamil said the measure was meant to prevent the possible entry and spread of ASF in the province.
The move came after the Capiz provincial government announced on June 19 that swine blood samples from Panitan, Pontevedra, and Roxas City tested positive for ASF.
The tests were conducted at the Regional Animal Diseases and Diagnostic Laboratory in Iloilo City.
Ardamil said Capiz traders regularly sourced live weight hogs from Antique, with 14,612 heads delivered from January to April this year.
He said cargo trucks coming from Iloilo were still allowed to enter Antique since no ASF cases had been reported in Iloilo City and province, although disinfection was advised before entry. Antique also maintains border controls in Hamtic and Anini-y for trucks using the Antique-Iloilo route.