Hong Kong authorities announced Tuesday that the number of live chickens imported from the Chinese mainland will be increased to 50,000 a day during the public holidays coming in late May.

Live chicken imports from the mainland would be temporarily increased to 50,000 per day for the three days preceding the traditional Tuen Ng Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival, from May 28to 30 to meet expected surging demand, said a spokesman for Hong Kong's Health, Welfare and Food Bureau.

The present arrangement was made only after local poultry industry promised to strictly observe public health conditions and clear overstocking of live chickens in the retail outlets during the three-day period, said the spokesman.

"The decision was made after assessing the relevant risk in the light of the prevailing threat of an avian influenza outbreak and communicating with the relevant mainland authorities," said the spokesman.

Except a few dead wild birds were found with H5N1 virus, Hong Kong has no outbreak of bird flu, nor report of human infection cases.

The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), however, has vowed to keep the city's daily live chicken population under 2 million so as to cut down the risk of an outbreak.

To achieve the goal, the HKSAR government capped daily imports at 20,000 live chickens a day, culled backyard-raised chicken and cut down rental licenses issued for local poultry retailing market.

Despite the poultry industry's call for a larger number of imported chickens, the government insisted the imports ceiling will keep unchanged so as to better manage the prevention and surveillance system against bird flu outbreak.

As for the day of Tuen Ng Festival that will fall on May 31, the number of chickens to be imported will be resumed to 20,000.

(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2006)