Shanghai and Hangzhou to permanently stop live poultry markets.

According to the report on CNTV.com ENLGLISH linked below, the poultry industry in Shanghai and Hangzhou (the capital of Zhejiang province) is about to change significantly (h/t Crawford Kilian's H5N1 blog post and Tweet on this).

A new plan for the use of processed poultry in place of live or freshly butchered birds will be rolled out in late February.

Brilliant news!

As you can see in the short news video, some (n=1) of the public see the sense of a change as well as the benefits of not having to deal with slaughtering and plucking chickens while others (n=1) complain that there will be a taste difference. 

I've never known much truly fresh chicken (I'm more a fan of the flavours its cooked in) so in my ignorance I don't know whether I'm missing something special or not. 

I do know what it is to miss a bad bout of the flu though. That's something I'd go the long way around to avoid crossing paths with.

This change seems so much more in concert with a China made of glass and steel. Good work. I hope it catches on elsewhere.

Sources...

1. CNTV Report
   http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20140215/103244.shtml
2. H5N1 blog
   http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/h5n1/2014/02/china-hangzhou-to-build-h7n9-prevention-system.html