Ocean Park is confident the discovery on its premises of the body of a wild bird suspected to have died of H5 avian flu and the brutal weather on the mainland will not affect the number of visitors over Lunar New Year.
Three attractions - the two aviaries in Tai Shue Wan and the Amazing Bird Theatre at the Lowland area - were closed for 21 days from yesterday as a precaution after a black-crown night heron was found dead in Tai Shue Wan.
'We don't believe this will have an effect ... Our business basically is more than just the avian collection,' Ocean Park chief executive Tom Mehrmann said.
'There are a lot more reasons to come to the park,' he said.
He said the park would offer more than 88 attractions during the Lunar New Year, such as ice-skating performances, and an ice palace maintained at minus 10 degrees Celsius showcasing sculptures of festive animals and icons.
The park's collections of birds were inoculated against flu and were healthy, he said, adding that they were separated from wild birds.