(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-05 11:42

HONG KONG - It is necessary for Hong Kong to maintain import ceiling for the Chinese mainland live chickens at 20,000 per day in the face of the threat posted by avian influenza, said a report posted Tuesday on the website of the Information Services Department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

The report quoted a spokesman for Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau as saying that the accumulation of live poultry in the markets might increase the risk of an avian influenza outbreak.

"In the face of the threat posed by avian influenza to Hong Kong and its neighboring areas, we have to stay alert in preventing the disease. We believe the present approach is appropriate which can both protect public health and meet people's demands for live chickens," the spokesman said.

"The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will continue to monitor the supply of live chickens in Hong Kong and maintain close liaison with the trade. We will also suitably adjust the number of imported live chickens from the Chinese mainland for major festive occasions to meet the stronger demand during those periods," he added.

To minimize the risk of an avian influenza outbreak in Hong Kong in the long-run, the spokesman said the HKSAR government was actively preparing for the setting up of a poultry slaughtering and processing plant, including the drafting of the relevant law and tender document, as well as conducting an environmental impact assessment study of the project.

"After the plant starts to operate, all local and imported live chickens will be slaughtered there to achieve the target of minimizing the avian influenza risk by separating humans from chickens," he said.

"Before that, we will not consider reviewing the current import limit for the Chinese mainland live chickens," he stressed.

He added that relevant government departments, including the Customs and Excise Department, the Police, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, would work closely with their mainland counterparts to crack down on illegal import of poultry and birds.

"Concerted efforts to safeguard Hong Kong from suffering attack of avian influenza can help maintain normal operation of the import of live chickens from the Chinese mainland," the spokesman said.