Traders fear paltry business will force bird market to shut

Stallholders say the tourist attraction is suffering as disease fears keep visitors away

The famous Yuen Po Street Bird Garden could be as dead as a dodo in a year unless business improves.

All 70 traders at the Prince Edward market say they are suffering, with many using their savings to stay in business.

Hong Kong Bird Trade Union chairman Lo Pak-leung and fellow traders say the government is not helping, despite the garden being a popular tourist attraction.

He said the fallout from the bird flu scare and government restrictions and requirements were putting them under heavy financial pressure.

'If business goes on like this, the bird garden will probably disappear in one year,' said Mr Lo, a bird trader for 25 years.

According to their leases with the government, traders must open their stalls at least 20 days each month. 'When we signed the contracts, we never imagined that one day business would be so bad that 20 days would seem such a long time,' said Mr Lo.

Bird cage seller Chen Zhi said business was worse now than when Sars hit last year. 'Business is now only 30 to 40 per cent of what it was at that time. If it goes on like this, I'd rather do some other job,' he said.

Johnny Wong, a cage trader since the bird garden opened in 1997, said bird flu had reduced his business to 10 per cent of its previous level. The market was relocated to its present site from Hong Lok Street in Mongkok, where it operated for more than 50 years.

Mr Wong, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Bird Trade Union, said fear of bird flu had drastically reduced visitor numbers. 'Usually, some 200 to 300 visitors would visit the bird garden on weekdays, with the number soaring to 500 to 600 on weekends, half of them being foreigners. But since bird flu, there have been less than 50 visitors a day,' he said.

In April, all traders went on strike for two days, urging the government to lower rents. Mr Wong, organiser of the strike, said: 'The rent was not lowered at all, and the government gave us no subsidy.'

Worm trader Chan Fok-cheung, who took part in the strike, said: 'The government was not concerned with us.'

However, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department that manages and cleans the bird garden said measures had been taken to promote the market.

A department spokeswoman said that discussions had been held with the Hong Kong Tourism Board on enhancing promotion by distributing leaflets and promoting the garden on the department's website.

But this is not enough, say the traders, who cannot see how these measures will work.

Mr Lo said bird import requirements should be relaxed. A temporary import ban exists for live birds from most of Southeast Asia, Canada and South Africa.

He said traders also wanted the ban on carrying caged birds on buses to be eased.