Despite the threat of avian flu, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government still exerts its efforts in maintaining the supply of live chicken under a safe and hygienic environment.

To prevent avian flu, the government has amended the hygienic ordinance governing live poultry sellers at the wholesale and retail levels. As required, all poultry farm workers should wear gloves and plastic boots as one of the bio-security measures in the farm licensing conditions. Those who commit an offense a second time will lose their licenses and have their market tenancies terminated.

In allusion to people being killed by bird flu in Thailand and Vietnam, the Department of Health has started to provide free vaccination to all poultry workers against flu on Feb. 2.

On the day before the release of live chickens from local farms to the retail market, poultry outlets are required to suspend business for thorough cleaning and disinfecting. The Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) also gathered blood and excretion samples of live chickens and collected dead chickens at local farms to make sure the chickens had not contracted avian flu.

With solid backup of precautionary measures against avian flu, the government resumed the release of 40,000 live chickens from 18local farms on Feb. 6.

Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Thomas Chan said on Feb. 7 that, the number of chicken release everyday could adjust according to the health condition of chickens and it would be ideal if chickens released from farms could be sold out everyday so that poultry workers can do thorough cleaning to their outlets.

He emphasized the control of the number of chickens releasing to the retail market aims to protect the health of the members of society.

Starting from the first day of chickens being released to the retail market, it was found that chickens too heavy were difficult to sell. To avoid stocking up of chickens, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has reduced the number of chickens from 40,000 to 35,000 everyday started from Feb. 10.

Members of the general public seem to have different attitudes toward the act of the government to keep maintaining the supply of live chickens at this extraordinary period. Some people are still worried about bird flu, and some think the act lifts up the high price of chickens. But for chicken retailers, they show full confidence to the government's precautionary measures.

Lau Yuen, who has been a chicken retailer at the Causeway Bay Tang Lung Street Market for more than 50 years, said the government has been very proactive in preventing avian flu. He was also confident toward the government's quarantine measures done on importing live chickens.

He believed that, even though the government is resuming the import of live chickens from the Chinese mainland, the chance of avian flu outbreak will not be high.

According to a vet of the AFCD, the chance of chickens in Hong Kong contracting avian flu is low because all chickens will be vaccinated before releasing to the market and the hygienic environment of farms are of high standard.

The AFCD believed that, since Hong Kong has a series of effective precautionary measures toward avian flu, the city will get through the threat of avian flu safely.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2004)