The feasibility of providing a small-to-medium sized abattoir on a pilot basis will be explored, the Health, Welfare & food Bureau says. Views collected in a consultation on long-term preventive measures against avian flu will be taken into account in the policy decision.

The bureau will look for suitable locations and assess their feasibility for small-to-medium abattoirs, and then implementation details will be considered in consultation with all stakeholders.

Consultation findings show demand for striking a balance between avian flu prevention and the livelihood of the trade and Hong Kong's eating culture.

Over 10,000 submissions

Of the over 10,000 submissions received during the April-to-July consultation, 66% were standardised forms or questionnaires submitted by political parties, trade and related bodies, 24% were individual submissions and the rest were signatures on standardised letters collected by some legislators and district councillors.

Among the 2,522 individual submissions, over 80% supported central or regional slaughtering. Of them, 53% opted for central slaughtering on grounds of "public health should take precedence" and "more effective segregation", while 28% chose regional slaughtering because of "retaining the existing eating culture".

The majority of the 47 submissions from medical professional bodies and academia supported the proposed segregation policy, with 74% opting for central slaughtering.

Objection from political parties, trade

The remaining 19% are direct individual submissions, among which 9% preferred maintaining the status quo and 5% objected to either one or both approaches.

The bureau said all standardised forms and questionnaires submitted by political parties, trade and related bodies did not support both approaches.

But 58% supported medium-term measures to segregate customers from live poultry, while 87% requested formulation of agricultural development and improving the viability of wet market policies.

As for the 1,081 signed standardised letters, their major request was to relax the daily quota of live chickens imported from the Mainland to 60,000 so as to reduce the retail price.

They also supported the segregation policy but objected to the implementation of central slaughtering now to reserve consumers' choice of live chickens.

Segregation support rising

During three opinion surveys conducted in March, May and August in which 1,200 people were interviewed by phone, supporters of segregation policy rose from 62% in the first survey to 74% in the last.

Also those agreeing the Government had sufficient preventive measures fell from 72% to 57%, but people less worried about the spread of avian flu grew from 42% to 48%.

The bureau reiterated its policy to separate humans from live poultry to prevent human avian flu infection.