Provincial veterinarian Dr. Stella Maris Lapiz assured the public that despite the ban on the entry of livestock cargo into Bohol, meat supply remains stable here.
She made the assurance in a telephone interview on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.
She said that the province has enough meat supply to meet the domestic demand.
The move comes as Gov. Arthur Yap signed Executive Order no. 2 series of 2021 banning the entry of pork, live hogs, processed food products, and other similar products into Bohol coming from Leyte, Luzon and Mindanao to prevent the spread of the virus causing the African Swine Fever (ASF).
Tighter border control is being implemented including the ban on the entry of livestock cargo trucks into Bohol following the news that ASF virus affected the swine population in Leyte.
All vehicles entering Bohol are now subject to disinfection to prevent the spread of the ASF and Coronavirus disease (Covid).
Lapiz said that monitoring of coastal barangays is tightened to prevent the entry of pork and/or pork products coming from areas with known ASF cases through small fishing boats.
Local residents may be tempted to buy cheaper pork or pork products coming from areas where there is an ASF outbreak.
Moreover, Bohol has been strictly implementing measures since 2019 to protect the P6billion swine industry in the province, comprised mostly of backyard hog raisers.
ASF is a disease that affects hogs and not known to affect humans, according to Lapiz.