December 4, 2013

In order to prevent a recurrence of the bird flu, Shanghai will suspend live poultry trading from January 31, the first day of the Lunar New Year, until April 30.

For the next five years, the suspension will be an annual feature, dependent on the evaluation and warning of the bird flu and the seasonal onset, according to a joint statement issued by the Shanghai Agricultural Commission and the Shanghai Commerce Commission.

All the designated wholesale and retail markets will be banned from trading in poultry and violators face hefty fines between RMB10,000 (US$1,641) and RMB30,000 (US$4,900) under a new rule that took effect in June.

The urban management teams will punish unlicensed street vendors who sell live poultry during the period.

Poultry from other cities and provinces must be sent to designated slaughterhouses and cannot enter the local market directly, it said. Residents are being urged to report any illegal trades of live poultry to market watchdogs.

In April this year following the death of 43 people due to H7N9 bird flu in China, all live poultry markets were shut down in Shanghai. The ban was lifted in June and about 110 poultry markets returned to business.

Experts have said there was a possibility of H7N9 recurrence and suggested a complete ban on live poultry business.

China's mainland has reported five cases of H7N9 this autumn - three of them in neighbouring Zhejiang Province. The mainland has reported 134 cases by the end of September, with 45 fatalities, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.