THE Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) has urged the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) to allow poultry to be slaughtered at wet markets.

CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader, in a statement today, said consumers should have a choice between dressed and freshly slaughtered poultry.

“The reasons for doing away with slaughtering poultry (at wet markets) are not good enough because there are ways to overcome the problem rather than brushing off the practice as unhygienic.”

He suggested that MBPP introduces facilities to enable poultry sellers to continue using traditional slaughtering methods, but in a “clean and hygienic manner”.

“The problem of unhygienic poultry sections at wet markets is not insurmountable. There just needs to be some ideas to restructure the system without reinventing the wheel.”

The statement is in response to MBPP’s plan to phase out poultry slaughtering at all wet markets on the island with the construction of a poultry distribution centre in Batu Lanchang.

The facility, expected to be completed by next year, will distribute dressed poultry to 126 sellers at 26 markets on the island.

On February 1, MBPP Mayor Yew Tung Seang said the distribution centre will ensure cleanliness at wet markets. – Bernama, March 29, 2020.