A senior Hong Kong official has denied accusations the government was not forthcoming with information about the number of monkeys being quarantined amid an outbreak of a deadly infectious disease.
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Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said on Sunday the decision to isolate animals was simply part of standard operating procedures, also reporting the remaining 70 monkeys at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens were showing no signs of abnormalities.
“The relevant departments have held another meeting and we visited the park … Overall, we think the preventive measures in place are sufficient, and we shall continue with this plan,” he said.
The health of the animals at the zoo in Central has been in the spotlight after 10 monkeys died amid an outbreak of melioidosis, which affects both animals and humans.
Three cotton-top tamarins, three white-faced saki monkeys, a De Brazza’s monkey and a common squirrel monkey were found dead last Sunday. Another white-faced saki monkey died on the following day, with the causes initially a mystery.
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Yeung said last week that laboratory tests and necropsies found the nine monkeys had caught melioidosis, possibly as a result of digging work near their enclosure earlier this month.