(CN) Guangzhou to ban live poultry trade

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Wednesday, June 4, 2003

South China Morning Post

 

Slaughter will be centralised as wet markets are 'upgraded', officials

say.

by CHOW CHUNG-YAN in Guangzhou and Gary Cheung

 

Centuries of tradition are about to be ended in Guangzhou as the

city government moves towards centralised slaughtering of poultry to improve

the hygiene of its wet markets.

 

The decision, announced yesterday, will effectively end the

practice

of selling live birds in traditional meat markets. Already, all restaurants

have been banned from keeping live birds on the premises, officials said.

 

Luo Bing, vice-director of Guangzhou Bureau of Commerce, said

centralising poultry slaughter was " the direction to go " in the wake of the

Sars outbreak.

 

" We are now considering the plan and will announce details in due

course. Centralising slaughtering will improve the environmental hygiene [of

wet markets] and provide safer poultry meat to consumers, " he said.

 

Mr Luo said the supply of live chickens to Hong Kong would not be

affected. But while there was as yet no timetable for the change, Guangzhou

would act independently of Hong Kong's plans for its own markets.

 

" The two sides will keep in touch and exchange experiences. But we

won't wait until Hong Kong takes similar steps, " he said.

 

Mr Luo acknowledged that it would take time to change traditional

eating habits. " People in Guangzhou and Hong Kong love fresh meat, " he said.

" You can't change a dining culture overnight. But this outbreak has raised

public awareness about the need to keep a clean environment. "

 

In the short term, the Guangzhou government will focus on upgrading

wet markets to supermarkets. Those that cannot meet the requirements will at

least be " improved " , he said.

 

" Better sewerage will be built, and we will make the markets more

spacious. Those that are dirty and have cramped spaces will be relocated to

more suitable places. "

 

The Sars outbreak dealt a hard blow to the city's restaurant business

in April, cutting total revenue at least in half, Mr Luo said. Even though

the sector showed signs of recovery in May, it was unlikely to hit last

year's annual tally of 26 billion yuan (HK$24.4 billion), the highest of any

mainland city.

 

Meanwhile, Guangzhou authorities also stepped up their drive against

the sale and consumption of wild animals, just as Shenzhen announced a

similar ban.

 

Zhang Jian, deputy director general of the Guangzhou government's

publicity department, said people caught eating endangered animals could

face a fine of up to 10,000 yuan. " The law is there. We will now strengthen

its enforcement, " he said.

 

In Shenzhen, a local newspaper reported that people caught eating wild

animals could face " heavy fines " under a draft law. The Shenzhen Special

Zone Daily said the new regulation, which was drawn up in just 18 days,

would also fine restaurants and hotels found offering wild animals.

 

The draft regulation will be put before the standing committee of the

Shenzhen People's Congress for approval later this month. Provincial

officials had said earlier that laws would have to be amended to provide

stronger deterrence against the eating of wild animals.