Local animal handlers, dealers, viajeros and owners of animal facilities like farms, veterinary clinics and grooming shops attended an orientation seminar on the implementation of the Animal Welfare Act (RA 8485), registration and licensing of livestock, poultry and by-products handlers and accreditation of transport carriers and animal facilities last week in Virac.
Also invited were Provincial Veterinary Office personnel, municipal agriculturists and their livestock technicians from the 11 towns.
Conducted by the Regulatory Division of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Office 5, the annual activity held March 25-26, 2026 sought to orient new and existing stakeholders, including LGU personnel, on current and updated government policies, rules and regulations
DA Regional Executive Director Rodel P. Tornilla said attendance in the seminar is one of the requirements for the registration and issuance of the License to Operate for Animal Facilities, as well as the registration of animal handlers and transport carriers.
Section 2 of RA 8485 requires any person or entity to first secure a certificate of registration from the Bureau of Animal Industry before establishing, maintaining and operating any pet shop, kennel, veterinary clinic, veterinary hospital, stockyard, corral, stud farm, stock farm or zoo for the breeding, treatment, sale or trading, or training of animals.
On the other hand, any person or business entity engaged in the business of inter-provincial, regional handling and distribution of livestock, poultry, game fowls, and its by-products, as well as any carrier engaged in handling and transporting the same must properly register and apply for a license to maintain disease-free areas and achieve safe, clean and orderly handling of commodities.
The government also implements rules and regulations on the transport of live animals by land, to ensure the five (5) basic freedom of animals from: 1) thirst, hunger, malnutrition; 2) physical discomfort and pain; 3) injury and disease; 4) conform to behavior pattern; and, 5) fear and distress.
This includes proper equipment and humane handling and care of animals during transport, loading and unloading, and location of resting place.
In the shipment of animals, shippers need a veterinary health certificate and shipping permit. The animals must be sourced from BAI or LGU accredited farms while those from backyard farms need a veterinary health certificate, laboratory tests and vaccination.
Livestock handlers and transport carriers must be registered with BAI.
Among the speakers during the seminar was recently appointed Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Ramil I. Evangelista, who recently discussed with Governor Patrick Alain T. Azanza their concerns regarding lax quarantine enforcement at the province’s entry ports.
The PVet team said that shipments of animals and animal products enter through the province’s ports without proper documentation while shipments that were previously denied entry and returned to their origin are reportedly being brought back.
Some traders refuse to pay the required Quarantine Inspection Fees, posing serious risks to public health and the protection against animal-borne diseases, they told the chief executive.
The governor immediately ordered the implementation of measures to ensure stronger enforcement of biosecurity and animal welfare laws, including the deployment of PVO personnel at the local ports and at Tabaco port, installation of CCTV cameras, and the identification of a suitable site for a holding or quarantine facility.
A son of former Provincial Agriculturist Herbert Evangelista, the new PVet head is a graduate of the former CSSAC and worked for 16 years at two private companies before being appointed as Veterinarian II at the Regulatory Division of DA Region IV-A in 2025.