Hong Kong conservation authority announced Thursday that a number of new licensing conditions would be introduced to prohibit pet bird traders from selling birds of unknown sources.

Traders' representatives from the Bird Garden in Mong Kok were briefed by the officials of the authority on Thursday afternoon on a package of measures that aimed at strengthening regulatory control of pet birds for sale.

They were also told that all of the 78 shop owners would be provided with a one-off ex-gratia payment of 10,000 HK dollars each as well as a one-month waiver to relieve their plight during the temporary closure of the Bird Garden.

To further improve the sanitary conditions of the Bird Garden, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will require shop owners to conduct regular thorough cleansing on a monthly basis.

A department spokesman said the new licensing conditions would ensure that all the birds kept in the premises of licensed animal traders were from approved sources.

"The birds should either be legally imported into Hong Kong accompanied by valid health certificates or acquired from other licensed animal traders and covered by documentation, such as invoices and sale receipts, detailing the species, quantity, date of transaction and source," he said.

"In case the birds are hatched from eggs laid by birds owned by licensed animal traders, the licensee must report to the department before hatching birds and seek the department's agreement before the hatched birds are put on sale," he said.

Under the new conditions, only birds free from infectious diseases are allowed to be sold. "Trade-in" of birds from clients and display for sale on behalf of clients and persons other than licensed animal traders are prohibited, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2007)