Lawmaker Sulu Sou is urging the government to consider the restoration of live poultry sale in local wet markets, citing results from a recent public consultation.
Sale of live poultry in Macau has been banned since Labor Day in 2017, due to a number of reasons, primarily contagious disease control. Since then, many retailers of live poultry in local wet markets have been forced to sell alternative poultry products, chilled or frozen.
A year and a half before the ban, a public consultation was carried out to understand public perception about “substituting the sale of live chicken with that of chilled ones.”
Results showed that two-thirds of respondents consumed live chicken more, while over half visited wet markets for live chicken frequently. Less than one-quarter agreed with banning of the sale of live chicken.
Sou argues that consumption of live chicken was a mainstream habit.
The SAR government has signed agreements with its Zhuhai counterpart regarding the quarantine and inspection of chilled poultry.
Research is also ongoing to investigate the feasibility of importing butchered live poultry from the mainland to Macau. Sou inquired if the government would consider the approval of selling butchered live chicken in Macau, as he says the scientific study supports the need for it. Staff reporter
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