PRIMARY PRODUCTION
63
Various types of fruit are grown in Hong Kong. The principal crops are longan, lychees, wampei, tangerines, local lemons, bananas, guavas and pineapples. Land under orchards in 1954 totalled 390 hectares; by 1980 it was 620 hectares.
Other field crops such as sweet potatoes, taro, yams and sugar cane are cultivated in the remote and drier areas where water and transport facilities are inadequate for growing vegetables. Some 80 hectares were under rain-fed crops in 1980, compared with 1,410 hectares in 1954.
Because there is insufficient land for extensive grazing, pigs and poultry are the principal animals reared for food. Pigs in Hong Kong are mostly crosses of local animals with exotic stock; pure strains of the Chinese type are difficult to find. The value of locally-produced pigs killed in 1980 amounted to $208.1 million.
With an annual production value of $502 million, the poultry industry - including ducks, pigeons and quail - continues to develop. Many farmers have adopted advanced methods of management and have successfully adapted them to local conditions. During 1980, local chicken production decreased by 5.9 per cent to about 15.4 million birds consumed, with an increase of 31 per cent in the number of live chickens imported from China. The value of hen eggs produced amounted to $43 million for the year.
While local cattle are used mainly for work, Friesians are kept by dairies. The largest dairy is on Hong Kong Island and others are located in the New Territories. Regular tuberculin testing is carried out on all dairy animals.
Sporadic outbreaks of a mild type of foot-and-mouth disease (Type O) and swine fever still occur, but they are kept under control by vaccination. Newcastle Disease in poultry is controlled by the use of Ranikhet and intranasal-drop vaccines. Investigations to establish the incidence of intercurrent disease in both pigs and poultry are undertaken at the govern- ment's veterinary laboratory.
The first case of rabies in Hong Kong for 25 years was reported on October 4, after an eight-year-old boy from On Po village in the New Territories died from the disease two months after being bitten by a dog. As a result, a 20-square-kilometre section of the New Territories was immediately declared a rabies-infected area and the movement of dogs in and out of the area was prohibited. Later, this zone was extended over a large part of the New Territories following the rabies death of a 75-year-old man in November. Up to the end of the year, 13 cases of rabies had been confirmed two in people, one in a cat, and the remainder in dogs - and 390 square-kilometres of territory had been declared rabies- infected. From the onset, all branches of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department were mobilised in catching stray dogs and controlling the movement of dogs, including those on fishing vessels. As a further measure, the $15 dog-licensing fee was abolished to en- courage people to have their dogs inoculated.
www
By the end of the year, 41,363 dogs had been humanely destroyed, while 80,780 had been licensed and inoculated against rabies.
As standard practice, all imported dogs and cats, other than those from Britain, Aus- tralia and New Zealand, are subject to six months' quarantine. To reduce the number of potential vectors of rabies, stray dogs are caught and, if unclaimed, are destroyed under the rabies control policy. Any dog that bites a person is required to be detained for ob- servation in government kennels. In addition to the greatly increased publicity during 1980, an annual rabies awareness campaign is designed to bring home to the public the dangers of the disease.
All cattle and pigs imported for food also are quarantined on arrival in Hong Kong. Any imported for breeding purposes are subject to strict procedures.