Import Inspection of Live Food Animals at the land border

The Import Inspection Unit under the Veterinary Public Health Section is responsible for the import inspection of live food animals at the land border to ensure the safe supply of live food animals for human consumption. There are three inspection stations in Hong Kong, namely Man Kam To Animal Inspection Station, Lok Ma Chau Livestock Contamination Monitoring Station and Cheung Sha Wan Import Poultry Inspection Station at Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market.

Import Inspection of Live Poultry

The import inspection work for live poultry at Man Kam To Animal Inspection Station includes:

• Verifying and collecting Animal Health Certificates accompanied with the live poultry;
• Inspecting the poultry for any injury or clinical sign of disease;
• Collecting tissue samples from the poultry for laboratory testing of avian influenza.

Common Imported Poultry Species*

* There has been no import of live chicken since mid-February 2016, and other live poultry since mid-February 2017 from the Mainland to Hong Kong.

Inspection Guidelines

Upon inspection at Man Kam To Animal Inspection Station, the relevant health certificate is verified and collected. After physical inspection of the poultry consignment, tissue samples are taken for avian influenza testing at the Veterinary Laboratory of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. The carrying compartment of the truck is then sealed, followed by the issue of a record of movement. The inspected poultry are transported directly to Cheung Sha Wan Import Poultry Inspection Station and the intactness of the seal is checked. The poultry will be released for sale subject to the satisfaction of inspection result.

For further information, please refer to:

• Guidelines relating to the importation of live chickens, pigeons and other gallinaceous birds from the Mainland

Import Inspection of Livestock

The import inspection work for livestock at Man Kam To Animal Inspection Station includes:

• Verifying and collecting Animal Health Certificates accompanied with the livestock;
• Inspecting the livestock for any injury or clinical sign of disease;
• Checking the tattoo marks on pigs or ear tag numbers on cattle and goats against the information on the Animal Health Certificates

Common Imported Species

Inspection Guidelines

Upon inspection at Man Kam To Animal Inspection Station, the relevant health certificates are collected and verified. The tattoo numbers on pigs or the ear tag numbers on cattle/goats are checked against the information on the health certificates. After conducting physical inspection, the carrying compartment of the truck is sealed and a record of movement is issued. Finally, the livestock are transported to the slaughterhouses.

For further information, please refer to:

• Guidelines relating to importation of livestock from the Mainland

For further statistical information, please refer to:

• Statistics on live food animals imported from the Mainland.pdf