Heung Yee Kuk could help in legal fight against poultry ban

The Heung Yee Kuk might help villagers to seek a judicial review of the backyard poultry ban, which it says could be a violation of private property rights guaranteed under the Basic Law.

The controversy flared yesterday, the second day of enforcement of the ban, with smaller numbers of poultry seized from villagers.

Kuk chairman and legislator Lau Wong-fat said he was not satisfied with the way the government had pushed through the ban on backyard birds. 'The hasty manner of ramming through all this cannot be used as an excuse to ignore the rule of law and violate the Basic Law,' he said.

Basic Law Article 105 guaranteed private property rights, and any resumption of such property should come with compensation, Mr Lau said. He said the powerful rural lobby group would not rule out helping villagers to seek a judicial review.

Mr Lau also criticised the 'injustice' and 'double standards' reflected by compensation paid to chicken farms in previous culls and the lack of payments this time.

'They pay for killing chickens on farms but refuse to do so for backyard poultry keepers. This is not just a double standard but harassment and injustice to the villagers,' he said.

But health minister York Chow Yat-ngok said that the poultry ban was in line with the Basic Law.