Wet market slaughter ban?

NST: The days of consumers buying live fowl at wet markets and having them slaughtered on the spot may be numbered.
The Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry is mulling a proposal to ban the slaughter of fowl in wet markets to prevent the quick spread of diseases, such as bird flu.
For a start, it wants to disallow the sale and slaughter of live fowl at wet markets within a one-kilometre radius of Kampung Pasir Wardieburn where chicken infected with bird flu were found dead on Feb 20.
Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the proposal would be submitted to the Cabinet tomorrow.
Kampung Pasir Wardieburn and neighbouring Taman Danau Kota, Pekan Danau Kota and Kampung Belakang JPJ have been closely monitored since more than 80 chickens died of the deadly H5N1 virus.
"The Datuk Bandar has agreed to the proposal. This is necessary because we want to contain the disease. The virus is contained in the chicken’s blood. And we have no way of knowing which chicken is infected.
"There is no by-law under City Hall for this, but this is an emergency preventive measure," he said after meeting Kampung Pasir Wardieburn villagers to inform them of the situation.
He said chicken sellers could bring their fowl to a designated slaughter area to be prepared for sale, or take the chickens to any slaughter house which had been certified halal.
"They can sell only dressed chicken. We are also considering implementing this everywhere in the long run, because it is unhygienic to slaughter them at the wet market.
"We cannot wait until a disease breaks out before we take action."
A total of 2, 656 swab samples and 30 bird carcasses taken from within a 10km radius of Kampung Pasir Wardieburn have tested negative for bird flu.
Muhyiddin said an estimated 98 per cent of the birds in the 1km radius of the village had been culled. The rest will be culled periodically.
Until yesterday, 3,580 birds, comprising 3,259 chickens, 135 ducks and 186 other birds, were culled. A further 1,476 eggs were destroyed.
A total of RM11,083.50 was paid in compensation.