The government says the centralised slaughtering of chickens is essential because it is the only way to keep the public from coming into close contact with live poultry. This actually means keeping us away from all live poultry. But the problem is with diseased poultry, not poultry in general.
Where does the cull (read murder) stop? What about cats, dogs, pigs, sparrows, or even elephants? Robert Webster, a top flu expert who researches animal viruses for the World Health Organisation, has said Hong Kong should not think about introducing centralised slaughtering unless it is done throughout Asia. 'Everything is going so well and Hong Kong is setting an example for the world,' he said. 'We are talking about changing the whole culture of Asia.'
He also tried to reassure Hong Kong people about chickens. 'The chickens on the table now are perfectly safe,' he said, adding that Hong Kong was very likely to remain free of bird flu this year because of the government's tough measures, including the ban on chicken imports from infected areas, health checks on poultry and heightened surveillance in markets.
Hong Kong University microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung said that chickens need to be butchered at slaughterhouses instead of street markets to minimise the risk of a bird-flu outbreak. He wants an end to live chicken sales.
The idea does not sit well with Hong Kong residents who insist on their poultry being as fresh as possible. They like to buy it live at the market, see it slaughtered on the spot, then take it home while the meat is still warm. Many view chilled or frozen chicken as inferior in taste. Even regional or district slaughterhouses, suggested as alternatives by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Yeoh Eng-kiong, shows that he fails to understand the point. The chickens here are healthy and need to be kept that way. Any other option is like having a health system based on disease, not health. Is it a health system or a disease system?
The 5,000-strong workforce in the poultry industry, made up of general odd-jobbers, wholesalers and retailers, has rejected all these ploys, claiming they would jeopardise the livelihood of thousands of their colleagues.
The four proposed options are: a complete ban on the retailing and rearing of live poultry; a ban on the sale of live poultry while allowing the sale of chilled and frozen birds; a ban on retail sales of live poultry but allowing the sale of warm slaughtered poultry; and the segregation of poultry from customers at the retail level.
