Press Releases
Poultry slaughtering plant can help reduce avian influenza risk
A spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said today (April 6) that
the Administration understood the concerns raised by the North District
councillors and residents on the proposed Sheung Shui poultry slaughtering
plant.
But he reiterated that putting together poultry slaughtering activities in a
slaughtering plant would help achieve the policy objective of separating live
poultry from humans as a means to reduce avian influenza risk.
"The Government has taken into account various factors when identifying a site
for building the poultry slaughtering plant. The proposed site now is close to
the boundary and local poultry farms, which can shorten the route for
transporting live chickens.
"Besides, basic infrastructure such as water and electricity supply and sewage
network is readily available (the proposed site is adjacent to the sewage
treatment works in Shek Wu Hui). These facilities can be used within a short
time which can allow the slaughtering plant to operate as soon as possible," the
spokesman said.
Turning to the impact on the traffic in the vicinity, the spokesman said as it
was initially estimated that there would not be too many vehicles going to the
plant, it was believed that the plant would not pose a significant impact on the
traffic flow. Nevertheless, the Government would conduct a traffic impact
assessment study over the proposed project.
The Government would also conduct a statutory environmental impact assessment
study and request the operator of the slaughtering plant to adopt design and
measures that would effectively control the impact on the environment and reduce
possible nuisance.
To minimsie the nuisance caused to the nearby residents, the proposed
slaughtering plant was expected to adopt enclosed design and install appropriate
facilities for sewage treatment and discharge, air sterilization and
deodorisation, as well as noise insulation and silencing, the spokesman added.
"We noted that the district councillors and residents were worried about the
risk in case of an avian influenza outbreak. In fact, comparing to the
slaughtering method currently used in wet markets, putting together poultry
slaughtering activities in a slaughtering plant could better reduce the risk of
an avian influenza outbreak.
"Moreover, samples would be taken from chickens for testing at farms and the
boundary before the chickens were sent to the slaughtering plant as a means to
ensure the health and safety of the chickens. Since the chickens to be
slaughtered would not be stocked up for a long time at the plant, the chance of
spreading virus would be much lowered. Therefore, there was no need for the
public to worry in this aspect," the spokesman said.
The spokesman added that the Government would continue to maintain close
contacts with the North District Council and the relevant rural committee on the
proposal in a bid to gauge views from various parties during the planning
process.
Ends/Thursday, April 6, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:57
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