Beijing closes live poultry market permanently

CHINA - Beijing has suspended live poultry trade in the market for one year. Will such trade be resumed in future?

On Thursday, an official from the Beijing Municipal Agriculture Bureau announced that Beijing will never re-open the live poultry trade, the Beijing Times has reported.

Beijing municipal government issued a notification suspending live poultry trade in a televised conference in November 2005 when the city was hit by the bird flu epidemic. At the same time, bird transactions and pigeon release activities were also prohibited. Although bird flu had stopped raging for a while, the Beijing municipal government never mentioned again whether the ban would be lifted ever since.

On June 16, the Beijing Municipal Agriculture Bureau sent a notification, saying that Beijing could resume its live poultry trade in the market under limited conditions. According to this notification, any markets or stalls that sell live fowls in the city should first obtain permission from the animal disease control center in their districts and obtain related certificates. However, this reporter was informed by the Beijing Municipal Agriculture Bureau that no stalls had ever applied for such certificates and live poultry transaction had not resumed.

The official said that recently, the State Council issued a document, urging big cities in China to “gradually call off the killing and sales of live fowls in the market. It said that fowls “should be killed at certain designated spots before they can be put on sale in the market.” Based on this document, Beijing municipal government decided to close its live poultry trade market permanently. In future, the Beijing Municipal Agriculture Bureau will work with Beijing Municipal Industry and Commerce Bureau and City Management departments to jointly crack down on live poultry trade.

ThePoultrySite News Desk

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