No. The state has clear-cut regulations which stipulate that the slaughter and bio-safety-based disposal of all the poultry and poultry products connected with the affected location must be carried out under the surveillance of the responsible authorities. Anything else that could possibly have become infected must also be disinfected and treated on a bio-safety basis. In addition the blockade of the epidemic affected area, control of environmental disinfection and verification of an epidemic should all be organized and implemented only by the local authorities and administrative departments in charge of poultry and veterinary health. If poultry breeders were to go ahead and destroy the poultry on their own, there would be a risk of inappropriate disposal of blood, waste products and contaminated water or perhaps even a lack of any measures for their disposal. This could lead to severe environmental pollution and widespread transmission of pathogens.
(China.org.cn February 13, 2004)
