Nearly a month into the live poultry slaughter ban, vendors' business has fallen by 50 percent
Since the ban on slaughtering live poultry took effect on the 17th of last month, chicken sales at traditional markets have fallen by an average of 50 percent. Chicken vendors complain that they used to sell 30 or 40 chickens a day, but now they are lucky to sell 10. Many stallholders go to the wholesale market in the early hours to pick out chickens, but the chickens they choose have to wait for electric slaughtering, which means queuing for up to 2 hours, so they get no sleep all night. They curse the government for inadequate supporting measures, and plan to take to the streets in protest on 6/13: "I would rather give up the business than not take to the streets to express my anger!"
Used to sell 30 or 40 a day, now only single digits
In the traditional market, the crowds keep coming, but the chicken vendors' stalls are deserted. Mr. Chen, who has sold chicken in New Taipei City for 20 years, sold only 3 or 4 all morning. He said that since the slaughter ban took effect on the 17th of last month, his business has dropped by 80 percent. "Everyone is afraid that electric-slaughtered chicken is not fresh and would rather buy other meat instead. Even my regular customers have all gone."
Mr. Chen said he used to sell several dozen chickens a day, and his family of four lived entirely on that income. Now electric slaughtering costs money, and buying a refrigerator and ice costs money too, while business has gotten worse. Not only is there no profit, sometimes he even has to dip into his own pocket. For now he can only hold on for a while and hope customers come back.
Some stallholders say that after electric slaughtering, the chickens are left suffocating in plastic bags. With the high summer temperatures and the long journey, once they are arranged on the stall for about 2 hours at most, the chicken meat starts to turn pale and smell. "So I just eat it myself or give it to family and friends. Otherwise, if a customer eats it and gets sick, they will never come back to buy from me."
Customers also complain that with electric-slaughtered chicken, they cannot see the slaughtering process, so it is hard to be sure whether the chicken is fresh. One customer grumbled that the chicken had been left out too long after slaughtering and the meat had dried out, and she had to go around several stalls in the market before she barely bought one chicken.
