Hangzhou announces to permanently stop live poultry trade in city proper

Chickens are sold in a live poultry market in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, January 23. Hangzhou announced yesterday it would permanently stop live poultry trade in the city proper. The measure had already been in place as a temporary ban since January 24, a week before the Spring Festival, China's lunar New Year. Hangzhou is one of Chinese cities stepping up control of the live poultry trade as the number of human H7N9 bird flu infections continues to rise.