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Article: Hong Kong wants to cut chicken population by half as precaution against bird flu
- Article from:
- AP Worldstream
- Article date:
- March 14, 2005
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AP Worldstream
03-14-2005
Dateline: HONG KONG
Hong Kong's government said Monday it plans to step up precautions against bird flu and slash the local chicken population by half to 1.8 million, sparking outrage from the poultry industry.
Locals have long favored freshly slaughtered chicken from live poultry outlets, but authorities want to clamp down on the practice to improve hygiene.
The reduced chicken supply of 1.8 million birds would allow officials to better control the birds if a bird flu outbreak occurs, Hong Kong's Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said in briefing paper for lawmakers discussed Monday.
Hong Kong ordered such a mass slaughter in 1997 when bird flu crossed over to humans, ...