End pointless exposure to live poultry The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals strongly agrees with recent comments in the media pertaining to the need to end the sale of live poultry to the public and also potentially ban the importation of live chickens. Both examples show poor practices for public health and safety and for animal health and welfare. The continued and unnecessary exposure of the public to live poultry in wet markets and other licensed shops creates a significant public health threat. This is coupled with the reality that these birds, whether locally bred or imported, have severely compromised animal welfare. The imported birds have it even worse. The birds are raised on farms on the mainland where there is little - if any - legal protection, oversight or regulation in terms of their welfare. They have to suffer significant extra stress and harm related to longer distances and periods of transportation - during which they are often crammed tightly into crates, have little or no protection from the elements, are handled roughly and as such are continually subjected to pain, distress and the risk of premature death. It is the SPCA's long-held position that live food animals held for direct sale to the public are unnecessarily subjected to suffering with no justification - and that the transportation and holding procedures before slaughter do not adhere to international standards of food-animal welfare. Properly regulated "on farm" or central slaughtering that meets international best practices in terms of animal welfare (including humane slaughter) and food safety should be explored for Hong Kong's chickens. In terms of nutrition, the difference between freshly killed meat and frozen or chilled meat is of little consequence. To the chicken on a farm destined for our tables, the difference is immense. Sandy Macalister, executive director, SPCA (Hong Kong) Online forms for preschools can cut queues The Education Bureau is considering if it is feasible for kindergartens to make admission application forms available online for the next academic year. If it could be done, this would mean mainland and local parents would not have to join long queues for hours, sometimes overnight, to ensure their children got a preschool place, especially in areas like North District. I think this arrangement could work, but it would have to be extensively promoted and additional resources would have to be provided to kindergartens so they could upgrade registration procedures. If the new policy was announced in the Hong Kong media, many parents living over the border might not know of it and therefore still line up outside the kindergartens. Therefore, leaflets would have to be issued at border checkpoints so that mainland parents were kept up to date about changes to application procedure, including the online forms. Officials would also have to ensure that kindergartens, especially in North District, had enough staff to deal with online applications. It might be necessary to implement the new policy in stages rather than all at once. Candiz Ng, Lok Fu Pedestrian zone decision went too far I do not agree with the decision of the Yau Tsim Mong District Council to reduce the periods during which the pedestrian zone operates in Sai Yeung Choi Street, Mong Kok. I agree that complaints over noise pollution are valid and it must be very annoying for residents. Also, there is congestion in the closely packed performance area, which makes the street narrow and access difficult. However, I do not think this new policy was the best way to deal with these and other problems associated with the zone. Mong Kok's street culture is very popular with tourists, including the musicians in the pedestrianised area. With much shorter opening times for the zone, fewer visitors from abroad will visit this part of Hong Kong. The performers will lose their audience on weekdays when the zone is closed [it now only opens on weekends and holidays]. Given the nature of Hong Kong, it will be difficult for them to find a new performing stage. This zone provided them with a substantial audience. Also, despite their grievances, residents will lose the opportunity during the week to watch free performances. This will be a shame as many residents in that area, particularly the elderly, cannot afford to pay to watch a concert. The council could have modified the opening hours rather than cancelling it altogether on weekdays. It could also have controlled the number of street performers by introducing a licensing system. Joyce Chung Nga-lok, Kowloon Tong Ship's purely scientific expedition I refer to the report regarding the scientific ocean drilling expedition of the US drilling vessel, the Joides Resolution, that recently left Hong Kong to conduct research in the South China Sea ("Expedition ship has licence to drill", January 27). As the chair of the facility board that schedules expeditions of this vessel, I wish to correct some errors in the article and clarify the role that the Joides Resolution plays in scientific research. The South China Sea expedition is being conducted as part of the International Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) - an international research programme focused on understanding the earth by subseafloor study. The programme accepts scientifically driven proposals from individuals or groups from the international research community. All proposals (there are over 100 currently under consideration) are subject to a very rigorous scientific peer-review evaluation process. If a proposal is considered worthy of drilling (like the South China Sea proposal to be drilled), it is submitted for scheduling. An international scientific party is then selected to participate in the expedition. The South China Sea project is not a Chinese-led programme but is an international expedition within the IODP. Its objective is not to explore for oil or gas but to collect samples and data to better understand the origin and history of the South China sea basin. It is important to acknowledge that the Joides Resolution is a research ship not equipped to drill into oil or gas reservoirs. In fact, we carefully avoid drilling into anything remotely resembling an oil or gas reservoir. To put it simply, the South China Sea is not about resource exploration - it is about understanding how the earth works. While the results may be of interest to industry, this international drilling expedition is a purely scientific endeavour. Susan E. Humphris, chair, Joides Resolution Facility Board Good response to new MTR announcement We would like to thank Kelly Lee On-ting ("MTR's mobile phone plea is now ignored", January 20) and Yumi Wong Sheung-yi ("Phone users show lack of self-control", January 26) for their support of the MTR Corporation's public safety announcement asking passengers not to focus on their mobile phones when taking escalators at MTR stations. The MTR always strives to provide passengers with safe and comfortable journeys. The new public announcement was created in November after we observed that many passengers were using their mobile phones when taking escalators, which raised concerns that they might be paying less attention to their own safety as well as the safety of other passengers. The announcement builds on our continuous efforts to promote the safe use of escalators to our passengers through various means, such as promotional campaigns, public announcements, notices and passenger information displays. The new message has been well-received by passengers, and we will monitor its effectiveness over time while continuing to explore other ways to raise passengers' awareness on how to use escalators safely. To make every journey on the MTR a safe one, we would like to encourage passengers to always hold the handrail when using escalators, and to take care of small children and the elderly. Passengers can obtain more safety tips through the "Travel safely every day in the MTR" booklet that is available at all MTR Customer Service Centres. Kendrew Wong, media relations manager, MTR Corporation Oversupply of veterinary surgeons I disagree with those who have argued that Hong Kong needs a vet school. I certainly think there is no need to establish one in the near future. We do not need more vets than we have at present. It has been recognised that there is already an oversupply and some fresh graduates coming back here from abroad struggle to find work. Some argue that such an institution is needed to cater for young Hongkongers who wish to pursue veterinary studies, but will have to spend huge sums if they go to a university overseas. So should we also open schools of forestry and archaeology even if there is limited demand for these professions in the city? Local students already have an option with an exchange between the University of Hong Kong and University of Edinburgh involving HKU's undergraduate biomedical sciences year three students. They would be able to complete a veterinary medicine degree from Edinburgh in just seven years. Sunny Hor Tsz-ching, Siu Lam
