December 19, 2006

Beijing closes live poultry market

Beijing will be not be re-opening the live poultry market which was closed in November 2005, after the city was hit by bird flu, the Beijing Municipal Agriculture Bureau announced.

In June, the Beijing Municipal Agriculture Bureau had said that the city could resume its live poultry trade in the market under limited conditions.

According to the notification, any markets or stalls that sell live fowls in the city should first obtain permission from the animal disease control centre in their districts and obtain related certificates. However, no stalls in Beijing had ever applied for such certificates and live poultry transaction had not resumed.

In a recently-issued document, the State Council urged major cities in China to gradually call off the killing and sales of live fowls in the market. It said that fowls should be killed at certain designated spots before they are sold in the market.