Press Releases
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AFCD destroys chickens at a farm The administration has decided to depopulate a chicken farm after some 10,000 chickens died in the farm, Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Mr Thomas Chan said today (February 2). Mr Chan stressed that this is an isolated incident. He called on the public to be at ease as the department has taken immediate and appropriate follow-up actions. "The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has inspected nearby chicken farms and has contacted owners of other poultry farms. There has been no unusual mortality in any of these farms," Mr Chan said. AFCD officers found a consignment of suspect chickens during a raid at Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market in the early hours yesterday. Some of the chickens died during detention for quarantine. AFCD immediately took samples from the chickens for testing. It has yet to establish what kind of disease the chickens have contracted. On the other hand, AFCD later found that the chickens came from a local farm which raises about 110,000 chickens. The department immediately implemented quarantine measures in the farm and stopped the farmer from sending out any chicken. "During farm visits, AFCD's veterinary officers found that about 10,000 chickens died in the farm in these two days. Thus, the decision was made to depopulate the farm. The depopulation exercise started today and will last for two days," Mr Chan said. On quarantine measures, he said that the quarantine requirements for local chickens are as stringent as imported chickens. For each consignment of local chickens, 14 samples are taken for testing. Only chickens that test negative are allowed to go for sale. Meanwhile, business at Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market is running as usual. AFCD has stepped up cleansing and disinfection of the wholesale market while the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has increased inspection of chicken stalls at retail markets. |
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