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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English):-Before I enter this room, I have discussed with the Director of Urban Services and I think with immediate effect, the application for cremation booking will not be made unless with all the legal documents such as the death certificate and a doctor's cremation certificate together with undertaker's licence and the applicant's I. D. card. So in future there will be no 'proxy' problem arising from lay man queuing up and to sell the place to the relatives of the deceased. With this improvement, I think this malpractice can be improved if not all together eliminated. And again if we open the booking to the relatives for any day without any restriction on the 7-day rule, I think this will certainly go a long way to improve the situation.
5. MR. CHAN TAK-CHOR asked the following question (in Cantonese):--Local pig farmers were plagued by the foot-and-mouth disease in pigs last month since the last disastrous epidemic in 1982. According to the Agriculture and Fisheries Department, a total of 7 cases of foot-and-mouth disease suffered by pigs were reported from last December to mid-February this year. More than 260 pigs died of this disease and over 840 pigs were infected with the virus. However, it was learned from the mass media that in a pig farm in Yuen Long alone, about 3,000 infected pigs died within the period. Most of the dead pigs were left on the roadside or beside refuse collection points. From the above two sources, we can see that many dead pigs were missing.
I would like to ask:
(1) Has the Council discovered any of these illegally slaughtered pigs being offered for sale in the urban area?
(2) If the abattoirs find that pigs for slaughter are infected with foot-and-mouth disease, what action is to be taken?
(3) From the end of last lunar year to the beginning of February, residents living in the vicinity of Kennedy Town Abattoir complained that the incinerator in the Abattoir emitted a very offensive and obnoxious smell every day. Is this arising from the disposal of carcases of the dead pigs?
(4) At present, nearly 10,000 pigs imported from Mainland China are slaughtered in the two abattoirs in the urban area every day. How does the Council ensure that thorough examination is carried out to detect whether pigs are infected with virus?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-Mr. Chairman, this question concerns a disease among the pigs and also the possible consumption by human beings. The first part of this question concerns whether our Council has discovered any illegally slaughtered pigs infected with foot-and-mouth disease being offered for sale in the urban area. Since the outbreak was discovered, our departmental staff have stepped up their inspection visits to the meat stalls and fresh provision stores. So far, we have not detected any sale of illegally slaughtered disease pigs. If such were discovered, legal actions will be taken against the operator but of course this does not rule out that there might be some illegal slaughtered disease pork for sale without our detecting it.
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The second part of this question concerns the actions taken by the abattoirs, if pigs for slaughter were found to be infected with foot-and-mouth disease, which, by the way, is exclusively an animal disease and is not directly transmissible to human beings. The livestock are usually examined by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department, and our health inspectors will be responsible to examine the pigs on admission to the abattoirs in whole. When such infected pigs are found to be deceased, they will be isolated and slaughtered quite separately from the healthy stock. After slaughtered in the course of meat examinations, if the disease is localized, only the affected parts such as the tongue, the feet, and also the mouth will be condemned. Total condemnation will be carried out if the disease is associated with febrile condition. The whole pig will be destroyed by our by-products plant.
The third part of this question concerns the offensive and obnoxious smell emitted from the Kennedy Town cremator during the month of February. I think we must distinguish carefully about the cremator in Kennedy Town and also the incinerator in our Abattoir. There are two different things. The cremator in the Kennedy Town is used for the disposal of dead animals such as cats and dogs collected from public places by the Department. Since the installation of the after-burner to the cremator in the Kennedy Town in September 1987, the emission of smell nuisance from the cremator has considerably improved and is no longer a source of odour nuisance. The offensive smell referred to in this question by the residents might have been emitted from our by-products plant in the abattoir. This plant, quite separate from the cremator, is used for the disposal and processing of dead animal carcasses, condemned meat, and offals. The offensive smell arising from it has been a source of constant complaints. However, I am pleased to report that a series of improvement works to the plant will be carried out shortly. Upon completion of these works by the end of this year, the odour nuisances will be considerably improved. There is no correlation between the disposal of diseased pig carcasses and the emission of the smell as detected by the residents. In fact, the total number of slaughtered animals and also the total number of diseased pigs for disposal by the by-products plant decreased during that period referred to.
The last part of this question concerns the examination of pigs for possible infection with foot-and-mouth disease. At present, the two abattoirs of the Council handle an average of 5,800 pig carcasses per day to meet the demand for the fresh meat in the urban area. All pigs admitted into the abattoirs, be they local or imported from China, are subjected to antemortem and postmortem inspection by qualified health inspectors to ensure that only wholesome meat is released into the market for sale. Furthermore, all diseased dead animals and condemned carcasses are retained in the abattoir authority for disposal under strict supervision in the by-products plant. There is, therefore, no cause for concern on the hygienic standard of fresh meat if the public purchase their meat from licensed stalls. I stress that the licensed stalls are the safe places to buy pork.
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