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ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

MONTH: March 2006

Hong Kong tries again

Hong Kong banned keeping chickens and ducks as pets, effective on February 20, 2006, after H5N1 was confirmed in 10 wild birds of four different species.


Hong Kong tried to ban and cull other bird species kept as pets when H5N1 first appeared in 1996, killing six residents, but many people released their pets rather than allowing them to be killed––which might have spread the disease if any of the pet birds had been infected.


Doing door-to-door inspections, the Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department found 42 illegal bird-keepers with 180 chickens and 57 other fowl in their possession, among the first 43,600 households visited. They also found 1,000 chickens at an illegal slaughterhouse.


The Hong Kong Health, Welfare, & Food Bureau asked the Legislative Council to ban live poultry sales by 2009, a goal the bureau has pursued for more than 10 years. Under a permit buy-back plan introduced in 2004, 272 of 814 live chicken vendors and 30 of 200 Hong Kong chicken growers have gone out of business, the bureau said.