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Opening remarks by SFH on poultry slaughtering centre (with video)
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     Following are the opening remarks by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a press conference on the poultry slaughtering centre today (June 1):

     The Executive Council endorsed this morning the decision to shelve the development of a poultry slaughtering centre at this stage, the main reason being that the latest scientific assessment of the Government has confirmed that the risk of avian influenza in Hong Kong at present is considered very low.  This is the outcome of the biosecurity measures and preventive and control measures against avian influenza implemented at the poultry farm, wholesale, retail and import levels over the past few years. There is at present no need to develop a poultry slaughtering centre in Hong Kong.

     Earlier on, the Government conducted a scientific assessment to evaluate the risk of human infection by avian influenza viruses associated with the live poultry trade in Hong Kong, and consulted the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases on the results of the assessment.  The committee is chaired by Professor Yuen Kwok-yung and comprises doctors, veterinarians, microbiologists and other experts.

     The scientific committee agreed that the risk of avian influenza to Hong Kong has been significantly reduced in recent years.  It confirmed the efficacy of the control and surveillance measures at all levels.  As the situation could change from time to time, the committee suggested that we need to maintain vigilance against avian influenza and to maintain and reinforce the existing measures.

     Scientific statistics also illustrate that the risk of human infection by avian influenza has been reduced to a minimal level.  On-going surveillance conducted in retail outlets by the University of Hong Kong has found that the isolation rate of H9N2 viruses, which is a good indicator of the loading of avian influenza virus in the poultry population, has significantly dropped from 5.11% before the ban on the keeping of live poultry overnight in retail markets and introduction of the buyout scheme for the live poultry trade in 2008 to the existing 0.09% recently.  This shows that the risk of avian influenza at the retail level has been successfully controlled at a very low level.

     I must also point out that in recent years, consumers have demonstrated a preference for frozen and chilled chickens.  If this trend is to continue, the demand for live chickens will remain steady or even decrease.  This will further reduce the need to develop a poultry slaughtering centre.  In fact, we have conducted a commercial viability study which concluded that it is not commercially viable to run a poultry slaughtering centre in Hong Kong.

     The decision to shelve the development of a poultry slaughtering centre is based on science, with the health of the public as an overriding concern.  However, I need to stress that although the development of the poultry slaughtering centre will not proceed at this stage, the Government will maintain its effort in controlling the risk of avian influenza.  Against this background, the policy on banning the overnight stocking of live poultry at the retail level will remain unchanged.  We will keep the number and rearing capacity of local chicken farms, the number of live poultry retail outlets and the quantity of imported chickens unchanged.  We will also strengthen our surveillance at the farm, wholesale, retail and import levels, and regularly review the risk of avian influenza to Hong Kong, with a view to ensuring that our policies are formulated in light of the prevailing circumstances.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the opening remarks.)

Ends/Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:17

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