Rearing, Slaughtering Of Chicken Banned In Setapak, Says Muhyiddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 (Bernama) -- Rearing and slaughtering of chickens in Setapak, the bird flu-affected area, will be banned to avoid a recurrence of the outbreak, Agriculture and Agro-based Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Tuesday.
He said the move was necessary to protect the people's health though it would pose problems to various parties, particularly chicken traders.
"In the interests of people's health, I cannot take this matter for granted eventhough it will affect chicken sellers.
"Tomorrow, I will bring up this matter with the cabinet and I hope the cabinet will agree to this decision," he told reporters after visiting Kampung Pasir in Setapak, the main bird flu-hit area.
Muhyiddin said four markets have been identified within a kilometre radius from the index case.
"After this, they will be allowed to sell only processed chicken or ducks," he said.

Muhyiddin said his ministry would discuss with Kuala Lumpur City Hall to find new sites to be turned into chicken and duck slaughter centres.
On culling of chickens in the index area, he said 3,580 chickens and ducks have been destroyed so far and RM11,083 has been paid as compensation to the owners.
He said the figure represented 98 per cent of chickens believed to be in the index area and culling operations are continuing.
Meanwhile, tests conducted on 2,626 swab samples and 30 carcasses within the 10km radius from the index area showed the chickens were free from the deadly H5N1 virus.
Replying to a question, he said the government would wait up to six months from the detection of the first case on Feb 21 before informing the World Health Organisation in Geneva that Malaysia was free from the virus.
"We must have a fixed period before making the declaration. We don't want new cases to resurface after making the declaration," he said.