Laws reviewed in fight against ants
Laws covering pest control and plant imports are being reviewed as part of the government's attempt to fight the invasion of red fire ants, it was announced yesterday as more anthills were found.
Deputy Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Eddy Chan Yuk-tak told a meeting of Legco's food safety and environmental hygiene panel that the law on plant importation had been relatively lenient because Hong Kong did not have an agriculture-oriented economy.
Plants produced and imported from the mainland are exempted from needing a plant import licence.
He said the government would consider whether the ordinance could be tightened. Mr Chan also admitted the regional notification system for plant-related problems could be improved after legislators criticised the government over poor communication with the mainland on the ant invasion.
Democrat Andrew Cheng Kar-foo said the government was acting very passively. 'It was confused and didn't know what to do for a week, which turned the system into a black hole. It reminds me of what happened to the system early in the Sars outbreak.'
Mr Chan said mainland quarantine authorities were contacted to discuss improving the notification system after ants were discovered in the city last week.
'Neither of the governments intended to hide any news concerning the invasion,' he said.
Although communication between Hong Kong and the mainland had improved since the Sars outbreak, the system focused on animals instead of plants.
A total of 88 more anthills were found across the city yesterday, pushing the total to 370, of which 347 have been destroyed. Six new areas were found to have anthills: planting areas at Chuk Yuen Estate in Wong Tai Sin and Fairview Park in Yuen Long, Hok Tau in Fanling, Ting Kok Road in Tai Po, Hiram's Highway in Sai Kung and a plant storage area in Penny's Bay on Lantau Island.
An Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department officer became the first local victim of the ants when he was bitten during an operation last Friday.
Deputy department director Lau Sin-pang said the worker was bitten by two ants on the shoulder and a finger.
'Fortunately, he did not suffer any allergic reactions. He is still on the job and joking that it was a good experience,' Mr Lau said.
