**********************************************
Through the notification mechanism established between the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau and the Ministry of Agriculture, the Government received last night a notification on deaths of ducks infected by H5N1 avian influenza in a poultry farm at Changsha in Hunan Province, a spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said today (August 16).
The spokesman confirmed that the suspension of importation of poultry meat from Hunan province had been in place since October 2005 when the first outbreak of avian influenza occurred in Hunan.
Although local poultry farms had been free of avian influenza since 2003, Hong Kong had to stay vigilant to prevent avian influenza as there have been cases of avian influenza in nearby regions from time to time, the spokesman said.
Enforcement agencies would enforce relevant legislation vigorously, including frequent inspection of local poultry farms to ensure compliance with the licensing conditions and effective biosecurity measures as well as to monitor the health of chickens, etc.
The spokesman reiterated that the Government would continue to carry out enforcement actions to combat illegal keeping of backyard poultry.
Regarding racing pigeons, the Government would continue to grant animal/bird exhibition licence to eligible applicants so that pigeon racing activities could continue under appropriate regulation.
The aim of issuing animal/bird exhibition licence was to ensure that the condition in which racing pigeons were kept had met biosecurity requirements that help to avoid posing risks to public health.
Ends/Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:45
NNNN
