Poultry traders cry foul over slaughter ban

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has been urged to suspend the ban on poultry slaughtering at the Pudu wet market until the new centralised abattoir at Desa Tun Razak is completed.

At a press conference today, Pudu Hawkers and Petty Traders Association president Jeff Tan said traders are unable to adhere to the ban, which comes into effect on Jan 1, without the new abattoir.

Compounding the issue further was the fact that DBKL has yet to inform the traders of the completion date for the new abattoir and Tan said little was currently known about the facilities to be provided.

"They ordered us to cease slaughtering, but never informed us when the the new abattoir will begin operation. Where should we do our poultry slaughtering? In our homes?

"We want this ban to be suspended until the abattoir is ready. We are not certain how the abattoir will function. We want to know there will be transparency in its management," Tan said.

Poultry traders were issued with notices in September and November, informing them that poultry slaughtering could no longer be carried out at the Pudu wet market, for reasons of hygiene.

A monopoly in the offing?

Tan warned that if the order was not rescinded and put off until the abattoir was completed, the livelihoods of many poultry traders would be affected.

Meanwhile, Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai said he had written two letters to DBKL, on Nov 8 and Nov 29, to urge the city council to suspend the poultry slaughter ban and urged it to consult the hawkers involved.

"I want to ensure that the proposed abattoir is managed transparently, will have a fair distribution and cost to the hawker traders. I do not want this to be monopolised by any crony out there," said Kok Wai, who is the association's adviser.

He also dismissed DBKL's claim that the poultry slaughtering techniques currently in practise by the hawkers are unhygienic, noting that the current practise has not changed for decades.

Putrajaya has considered banning the slaughter of poultry in markets following the outbreak of the the H5N1 virus in 2005, not no action has been taken on this since then.