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More Poultry Destroyed During Actions on Avian Flu
Hundreds of thousands of birds including chickens were destroyed during actions taken to stop avian flu Monday in Hong Kong, according to a local food official.
The Secretary for the Environment and Food Lily Yam told a press conference Monday on the follow-up actions on avian flu which started taken from Friday that about 440,000 birds were destroyed including chickens in the retail markets, fresh provision stalls and in the wholesale markets.
"The number is higher than we originally anticipated because the original estimate was based on the average numbers of chicken that Hong Kong people consumed every day," she said. A total 90,000 to 100,000 chickens are consumed by Hong Kong people every day.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has started an operation in 16 farms on Monday. Eventually it will extend to all 208 farms, including chicken farms, pigeon farms and quail farms, and the action will take two weeks to complete.
Explaining the reason for the operation, the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Lessie Wei said, "There is no evidence that our local farms have been contaminated. But since the retail outlets have been closed and will remain so for three to four weeks, there is a need to destroy local chickens, pigeons and quails which will reach marketable age during the time the retail outlets are closed."
"The number of poultry to be destroyed at local farms is estimated to be 1.06 million, including 850,000 chickens, 140,000 pigeons and 70,000 quails," she said.
Some 300 people were deployed for the operation, including 220 frontline workers, and 80 supporting staff and people working at the command centers. The frontline staff will be working in 44 teams. They will use carbon dioxide as the means of destruction.
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