New rule to restrict live poultry in Guangdong province

Guangdong city governments will establish restricted areas for trade

People in Guangdong province are well-known for liking fresh chicken, but they will soon have far fewer opportunities to buy live birds.

The number of markets selling live poultry in urban areas is to be greatly reduced to prevent outbreaks of bird flu.

A regulation on poultry trading and management was signed by the provincial government on Monday and will come into force on Jan 15.

City governments will establish restricted areas for the live-poultry trade in urban areas, Wu Shengming, deputy director of the general office of the provincial food safety commission, said on Monday. No more than three live-poultry retail markets will be allowed in each area.

In other markets, only cold-processed poultry - birds slaughtered at a registered facility and stored at between zero and 4 degrees C - will be available. No new live poultry wholesale markets will be approved in the restricted areas.

Guangdong, as a province with a huge population, has an important role to play in the prevention and control of avian flu, Wu said.

Two human cases of H7N9 bird flu infection have been confirmed in the province since November, and one man died of the disease, according to the provincial Health and Family Planning Commission.

The government launched trial sales of cold-processed poultry in some districts in Guangzhou, Foshan and Shenzhen in May.

"However, it takes time for people to accept this type of poultry, and the sales volume has fluctuated greatly," Wu said.

Some retail stalls dealing in cold-processed poultry are selling privately slaughtered poultry, rather than birds from registered suppliers, because of a lack of regulation.

The new regulation sets out requirements for the production and trading of live and cold-processed poultry, risk control and legal liability.

It requires live poultry markets to be sterilized every day, thoroughly cleaned every week and closed once for cleaning every month. No live poultry may be kept in retail markets at night.

The guidance on the building of slaughterhouses and live markets has been worked out by the provincial agricultural and commerce departments. The rules for live markets cover location, equipment, space allocation and the discharge of sewage.

Hygiene requirements for the production and trading of cold-processed poultry have been drawn up by the provincial and health authorities.

Guangdong's poultry slaughterhouses have a combined daily capacity of 700,000 chickens, but are actually supplying only 270,000, said Luo Zhanguang, deputy director of the animal husbandry and veterinary bureau under the provincial Department of Agriculture.

He said he is confident the province will have sufficient supplies of cold-processed poultry in the future.

Wu said the new regulation will help to improve hygiene in urban areas and help poultry businesses to withstand the operational risks of an epidemic.

"Cold-processed poultry will be increasingly accepted as society advances," he added.