Disgruntled traders demand damages
Updated: 2008-06-12 07:38
By Teddy Ng(HK Edition)
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The poultry industry was angered by the government's decision yesterday to cull all chickens at retail outlets four days after the previous culling and demanded compensation.
Hong Kong Poultry Wholesalers and Retailers Association chairman Steven Wong Wai-chuen felt that the government had responded too slowly to the crisis.
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Officials from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department dispose of slaughtered chickens into a special container at a poultry stall yesterday. The government ordered a mass cull of all poultry at retail outlets in a bid to stop the spread of the H5N1 virus after the deadly virus was found in chicken fecal samples taken from across the city. Edmond Tang |
"The government collected the fecal samples days ago. It should have anticipated the spread of the virus at that time and stopped the Cheung Sha Wan poultry wholesale market from trading. Now the problem has worsened," he said.
Wong urged the government to pay each retailer at least HK$100,000 in compensation, as they need to pay rent and give salaries to their staff.
In an Ap Lei Chau market, a trader, who bought 60 chickens on Wednesday, was displeased with the government's sudden decision and demanded compensation.
Lau Kai-tai, a chicken farmer in Kam Tin, urged the government to immediately allow local farms to trade with retailers as their chickens are not infected.
President of the Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades Simon Wong Ka-wo said he expected the catering sector to see a drop of 15 to 20 percent in business amid the dropping number of customers and the rising prices of frozen chickens.
Meantime, head of the microbiology department at the University of Hong Kong Yuen Kwok-yung said the culling is not enough to stop the spread of the virus and suggested central slaughtering instead.
The SAR could also follow the example of Shenzhen and Macao, where all unsold live chickens are slaughtered at the end of every trading day, he said.
"The virus will not spread if there is no live chicken in the market," he said.
Meanwhile, agricultural sector legislator Wong Yung-kan said chicken smuggling is common, especially during festive periods.
"Chicken supply from proper channels is insufficient during festivals. Therefore some traders may turn to illegal sources to meet the market demand," he said.
Wong urged the government to strengthen inspection at retail markets, and slaughter chickens with unclear origin.
(HK Edition 06/12/2008 page1)