'Despite the fact that we need to kill all the chickens that are unsold at the end of the day, I will continue in my business,' said a butcher in Wanchai market. -- PHOTO: AP

Last month's outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus has prompted the government to take measures to phase out the slaughtering of chickens in wet markets, a move that has presented a bleak future for the city's butchers.

A compensation package has been offered by the city's government for traders, farmers and other workers involved in the poultry industry to surrender their business licences.

The package was formulated during the three-week ban on the sale of live poultry since June 11, imposed following the discovery of H5N1 in chickens at four wet markets.

The government put further pressure on the traders by introducing a ban on keeping live chickens overnight, insisting that any left unsold by 8.00pm would have to be killed.

A report in the South China Morning Post said only a fifth of the city's chicken stalls would reopen on Wednesday as a result of the new measures, many waiting to see how they would cost them.

Hong Kong's food and health bureau said the action was necessary to minimise any possible spread of the virus to humans.

Virologists have supported the move, fearing a repeat of the world's first outbreak of bird flu in humans which hit the city in 1997, leaving six people dead. It has since killed more than 240 people worldwide.

But despite vaccination programmes and other measures, authorities have so far resisted calls to centralise all slaughtering of poultry until 2012, which experts say would further minimise the chances of the disease spreading.

The government has in recent years appeared reluctant to ban the traditional practice of slaughtering live chickens to order, as many Hong Kong people insist that frozen chicken is bland in comparison with the freshly killed bird.

Estimates vary as to how many chickens could be killed as a result of the latest plan, but when a cull was announced following the June 11 outbreak, around 3,500 chickens due to be held overnight were killed.

If the figure was representative, more than one million chickens would be wasted every year. But such a gruesome scenario is unlikely as traders are expected to take the compensation offer, although many butchers have argued it is not enough.

Dr David Hui, a professor of medicine at the city's Chinese University, said the moves made sense on public health grounds, but the reappearance of avian influenza in markets was troubling.

'It seems there could be something wrong with the H5N1 vaccine,' he said. The vaccine is given to all poultry and birds held in the territory, he added.

However, some butchers insist they will carry on.

'Despite the fact that we need to kill all the chickens that are unsold at the end of the day, I will continue in my business,' said another butcher in Wanchai market, who did not want to be named.

'It's tradition to sell live chickens.' -- AFP