Speeches
Opening remarks by SFH on poultry slaughtering centre (with video)
Following are the opening remarks by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr
York Chow, at a press conference on the poultry slaughtering centre today
(June 1):
The Executive Council endorsed this morning the decision to shelve the
development of a poultry slaughtering centre at this stage, the main reason
being that the latest scientific assessment of the Government has confirmed
that the risk of avian influenza in Hong Kong at present is considered very
low. This is the outcome of the biosecurity measures and preventive and
control measures against avian influenza implemented at the poultry farm,
wholesale, retail and import levels over the past few years. There is at
present no need to develop a poultry slaughtering centre in Hong Kong.
Earlier on, the Government conducted a scientific assessment to evaluate the
risk of human infection by avian influenza viruses associated with the live
poultry trade in Hong Kong, and consulted the Scientific Committee on
Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases on the results of the assessment. The
committee is chaired by Professor Yuen Kwok-yung and comprises doctors,
veterinarians, microbiologists and other experts.
The scientific committee agreed that the risk of avian influenza to Hong
Kong has been significantly reduced in recent years. It confirmed the
efficacy of the control and surveillance measures at all levels. As the
situation could change from time to time, the committee suggested that we
need to maintain vigilance against avian influenza and to maintain and
reinforce the existing measures.
Scientific statistics also illustrate that the risk of human infection by
avian influenza has been reduced to a minimal level. On-going surveillance
conducted in retail outlets by the University of Hong Kong has found that
the isolation rate of H9N2 viruses, which is a good indicator of the loading
of avian influenza virus in the poultry population, has significantly
dropped from 5.11% before the ban on the keeping of live poultry overnight
in retail markets and introduction of the buyout scheme for the live poultry
trade in 2008 to the existing 0.09% recently. This shows that the risk of
avian influenza at the retail level has been successfully controlled at a
very low level.
I must also point out that in recent years, consumers have demonstrated a
preference for frozen and chilled chickens. If this trend is to continue,
the demand for live chickens will remain steady or even decrease. This will
further reduce the need to develop a poultry slaughtering centre. In fact,
we have conducted a commercial viability study which concluded that it is
not commercially viable to run a poultry slaughtering centre in Hong Kong.
The decision to shelve the development of a poultry slaughtering centre is
based on science, with the health of the public as an overriding concern.
However, I need to stress that although the development of the poultry
slaughtering centre will not proceed at this stage, the Government will
maintain its effort in controlling the risk of avian influenza. Against this
background, the policy on banning the overnight stocking of live poultry at
the retail level will remain unchanged. We will keep the number and rearing
capacity of local chicken farms, the number of live poultry retail outlets
and the quantity of imported chickens unchanged. We will also strengthen our
surveillance at the farm, wholesale, retail and import levels, and regularly
review the risk of avian influenza to Hong Kong, with a view to ensuring
that our policies are formulated in light of the prevailing circumstances.
(Please also refer to the
Chinese portion of the opening remarks.)
Ends/Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:17
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