No More Slaughtering Poultry In Perak Markets, Says Tajol Rosli

BANDAR SERI ISKANDAR, March 22 (Bernama) -- Traders in Perak are given until the end of the month to stop slaughtering live poultry in the wet markets, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali.
He said traders would have to opt to the integrated slaughtering system to be implemented in all big towns.
He warned that the state government would not compromise on its stand and errant traders will have their licence suspended.
The move was part of the preventive steps in overcoming the bird flu that was detected in five locations in Perak since March 16, he told reporters after a meeting with the residents of Titi Gantung at the Titi Gantung Agriculture Complex, here Wednesday.
He said the traders who slaughter the birds in the markets also pollute the drains with the poultry blood that in turn causes foul smell and attracts flies.
"If the need arises, poultry traders should call for a meeting to establish a cooperative to undertake the slaughtering process...and also those who are involved in the vocation," he said.
Meanwhile, on the operations to cull birds infected by the H5N1 virus in Changkat Legong and Titi Gantung, the Menteri Besar said 70 percent or 5,223 of the birds in the area already culled with the remaining 3,000 within a 1 kilometer radius to be culled by tonight.
The Menteri Besar said the sampling had been intensified all over the state especially in areas frequented by migratory birds like in Kuala Gula and several swamps in the Perak Tengah and Kinta districts.
All index case areas were close to swamps and former mining areas frequented by migratory birds.
In the operation at two other affected areas - Changkat Tualang and Bukit Merah - more than 30,000 ducks, 10,000 broiler and free-range chickens and another 239 exotic birds at the Ecopark Garden were culled.