Selective ban on live poultry imports puts Hong Kong at risk of deadly bird flu outbreak, expert warns
Silkie fowl, pigeons, chukars, pheasants and quail are all allowed into the city despite most of them being as susceptible to viruses as the common chicken
An influx of alternative birds to feed a gastronomic gap in the Hong Kong market left by a ban on live chicken imports increases the risk of a deadly bird flu outbreak, an expert has warned.
The concern was raised after it emerged that of the 5,643 birds that were slaughtered in a cull at Cheung Sha Wan wholesale market last week, only 48 were chickens. The rest were silkie fowl, pigeons, chukars, pheasants and quail.
It’s a mistake to import these birds from China – no other country would take that risk
According to Dr Howard Wong, a former government adviser on avian flu who is now a consultant for the United Nations, silkie fowl – also known as Chinese chicken – are just as susceptible to bird flu as the common chicken but continue to be imported from mainland China and sold in Hong Kong’s wet markets.
The strange-looking bird, notable for its poodle-like plumage, is not bred in Hong Kong and as such could only be entering the city from farms on the mainland, where this year at least 16 people have died following two outbreaks of avian flu.
Wong said: “It’s a mistake to import these birds from China [given the outbreaks] – no other country would take that risk.”
