Live poultry imports to resume July 6

HONG KONG - The import of live poultry, day-old chicks and pet birds from Guangdong will resume July 6, the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau says.

After evaluating the public health situation, including the confirmation that no new human case is found and no outbreak of avian influenza has occurred in the farms in Guangdong in the last few days, import arrangements will be restarted. Live chickens will be available for sale in retail markets on July 7.

Hong Kong experts and veterinarians will, in the next two days, inspect the hygienic condition of live poultry and breeder chicken farms in Guangdong and Shenzhen which supply Hong Kong. The quantity of live poultry imports upon resumption will be the same as before, that is, the ceiling of live chicken imports will be capped at 20,000 a day and an average of 20,000 day-old chicks can be imported to Hong Kong daily.

Source: Health and Community

3 July 2006