In the interests of improving food hygiene and safety for citizens, in 2004 the COA launched a new policy, based on Article 29 of the Animal Industry Act, to apply the meat inspection system to the slaughtering of all poultry. In 2006 we began to educate and inform the public about the proposed policy of banning poultry slaughtering in traditional markets, and it was announced that the policy would go into effect on April 1, 2010. However, this announcement was revised before the policy went into effect to allow the practice to continue under some conditions, owing to a number of considerations, including: (a) convenience for consumers; (b) traditional customs, and (c) the needs of the industry.

However, in 2013 the H7N9 avian influenza situation in mainland China took a turn for the worse, and the number of cases of human infection rose continuously. On April 25 of that year, the first confirmed case was reported in Taiwan of a person who had been infected with H7N9 and then brought it into Taiwan. Taking into account the overall health of all citizens and the need to prevent the spread of the disease, on May 17, 2013 the COA began to implement the policy to ban poultry slaughtering at traditional markets.

In order to minimize the impact of the policy on the butchers who operated stalls in traditional markets, and to try to use this moment to aid in the overall development of the poultry industry, the COA adopted the following measures:

1. Convened a conference of relevant ministries and local governments (special municipalities, cities, counties) and formed a working group to oversee implementation of the policy.

2. Implemented a variety of guidance measures, including: (a) assisting traditional butchering stalls to transition to other services; (b) improving poultry hygienic conditions and safety for consumption; (c) reorganizing the poultry production, slaughtering, and marketing structure;(d) strengthening enforcement of the law against violators; (e) explaining the policy to, and communicating with, those stakeholders who would be most affected by the ban, and (f) collecting data about, and preparing to respond to any possible incidents of, avian influenza.

3. Worked with the “Central Epidemic Command Center for H7N9 Influenza” to deal with the H7N9 threat, held an intensive series of conferences to ensure that preparatory work and complementary measures were being conducted properly, and increased the pace of policy implementation.

4. Dealt with the higher demand for traditionally-raised poultry on “Ghost Day” (a traditional religious day on which symbolic offerings are made to “hungry spirits”) by drafting a plan to cover slaughtering of chickens, including (a) scattering the locations where, and times when, slaughtering was done; (b) coordinating with businesses for transport of slaughtered carcasses to northern Taiwan, (c) assisting businesses to improve refrigeration and transport processes, and (d) improving temperature control at poultry-retailing stalls.

5. Coordinated various government bodies in actively guiding the construction of poultry slaughterhouses, the number of which reached 91 as of the end of 2013; also, began guiding operators of traditional poultry butchers stalls to transition to other services (all of the 1051 listed butchers are already cooperating with the policy).

6. Strengthened promotion of industrialization of the production of meat from traditionally raised chickens, and brought a more sound order to the production and sales system for such meat.

7. Strengthened public information campaigns about the ban and urged consumers to be selective and purchase only superior-quality domestically-produced poultry products.

8. Actively worked to maintain stability in the production and marketing of poultry; worked to acquire complete and accurate information on the production and sale of poultry products (especially free-range chickens, eggs, and ducks); prepared measures for stabilizing production, sales, and prices at the point of production, and activated production-and-sales adjustment measures on the basis of actual demand.

9. Offered special instruction in the transport and sale of fresh-frozen poultry, in order to (a) upgrade quality in the transport and sale of poultry products, and (b) demonstrate new methods to, and raise awareness among, business people about preserving freshness during the production, transport and selling of poultry products.

The policy of banning poultry slaughtering at traditional markets has blocked the interface of humans with live birds, effectively preventing the possible spread of avian influenza and upgrading food safety and hygiene for all citizens. Admittedly, in the early stage of implementation, there was some resistance from the affected parties, requiring that more time be spent on persuasion and discussion. Nevertheless, in the end, thanks to the efforts of all relevant central-government agencies and local governments, timely flexibility in implementing various measures, and intensive guidance and education, the policy has been fully and successfully implemented. At the same time, the COA has worked through the media to raise consumer trust in the domestic poultry industry. The results have been widely applauded by all parties. In the future the COA will continue to promote modernization of the production, slaughtering, transport, and sale of poultry.