Hong Kong offers compensation to end live chicken trading
Hong Kong's government on Friday offered a major compensation package for chicken farmers and traders to surrender their licences in a bid to prevent further bird flu outbreaks.
By Agencies |
HONG KONG: Hong Kong's government on Friday offered a major compensation package for chicken farmers and traders to surrender their licences in a bid to prevent further bird flu outbreaks.
The compensation reflects the government's plan to phase out live chicken sales in the southern Chinese city.
The package, totalling about 1 billion Hong Kong dollars (120 million US), was "very reasonable," health minister York Chow said in a statement.
Under the proposals, each chicken stall-owner would get between 600,000 and 1.5 million dollars in compensation, depending on the size of their stall and turnover.
The move came after the authorities culled 2,900 chickens in 470 live poultry shops last week, as the H5N1 virus was identified in samples taken from four street markets in the city.
A government source said if the traders rejected the proposal, they would unlikely get a higher offer, according to a report by local broadcaster TVB.
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However, the government's stance was not well received by the chicken traders and farmers. About 50 chicken farmers walked out of a meeting with officials after their talks broke down on Friday, local radio station RTHK reported. A representative of the group said the government's offer was far too low.
"We will not rule out drastic action. We may consider releasing the chickens," he said.
There was also little progress from a separate meeting between the officials and chicken traders, who said they were disappointed by the offer.
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Hong Kong was the scene of the world's first reported major bird flu outbreak among humans in 1997, when six people died. But the threat of the flu was soon offset by Hong Kong citizens' demand for live chickens, which they favour over imported frozen chicken.
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The H5N1 strain has killed more than 240 people and ravaged poultry flocks worldwide since 2003, according to the World Health Organisation. Download
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