Health & Community

19k poultry culled

(December 31, 2014)

All 19,000 live poultry in the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market were culled today after a consignment of live chickens from Huizhou was confirmed to have the H7 avian influenza virus last night.
 
The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department has declared the market an infected place and has ordered it to remain closed for three weeks.
 
Briefing the media today, the department’s Deputy Director Leung Siu-fai said it will take three to four days for officers to inspect all 29 local farms and collect samples for testing.
 
Then unaffected local chickens with certificates can be dispatched to retail outlets through the Ta Kwu Ling Checkpoint, where officers will verify their certificates before the chickens are transported to the retail outlets directly.
 
The checkpoint is to facilitate the supply of local chickens from the farms to the retail outlets, Mr Leung said.
 
The department has briefed the trade representatives today on the arrangements and will continue to discuss their implementation, he added.