Slaughterhouse opponents fear bird flu threat
Plan would see poultry processed 200 metres from homes
Opposition was mounting yesterday over a government plan for a poultry slaughterhouse to be built about 200 metres from a residential area in Sheung Shui.
Villagers said most of the 3,000 residents in the area opposed the plant - with a capacity to slaughter 60,000 chickens a day - because of the bird flu risk. And an infectious diseases specialist also said the 10,500-square-metre site, next to the Shek Wu Hui wastewater treatment plant, was too near homes.
Under the government's plan, the slaughterhouse, estimated to cost $200 million, will be built by a private company, which will also run the service. The administration's role will be confined to monitoring the operation to ensure it meets hygiene standards, a government source said.
The plan calls for tenders to be invited this year and for the slaughterhouse to open in 2009.
Lo Wing-lok, a member of the H5N1 concern group, said areas within 3km of a bird flu outbreak were considered high risk by international standards.
'So, I have reservations about the distance of 200 metres from residential areas,' Dr Lo said. 'The government has to make sure the slaughterhouse will be equipped with all the facilities to contain bird flu in case there is an outbreak.'
Lau Lin-fu, head of the nearby Tsung Pak Long village, said most villagers strongly opposed the government plan. He said more than 3,000 people lived in the area.
One female resident said the proposed slaughterhouse was only five minutes' walk from her home.
'What if there is a bird flu outbreak? I can't let my four-month-old son grow up in such a dangerous environment.' She said nearly all residents opposed the plan and would gather today to complain to the village committee.
Another female resident said her family did not want to move from the village.
'I have lived here for more than 10 years and my husband grew up in this village. We don't want to move to another place. Where would we go?'
The site is part of an area used by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation for development of its Lok Ma Chau spur line. The land will be returned to the government in the second half of next year.
The government source said the slaughterhouse would supply chilled chicken and limited supplies of fresh chicken for sale in the New Territories. The government would not run the plant as poultry slaughtering is essentially a commercial activity.
'If the operator fails to maintain hygiene standards and other environmental requirements, the government will take over the slaughterhouse and find a new company to run the services. All these details will be spelled out in the agreement,' the source said.
The plan will be discussed by North District Council next Thursday, the source said.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen yesterday acknowledged during question time in the legislature that the plan would affect 3,000 traders.
