Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ15: Rabies Ordinance
Following is a question by the Hon Li Kwok-ying and a written reply by the
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council
today (February 28):
Question:
At present, under the Rabies Ordinance (Cap. 421) and its subsidiary
legislation, all dogs over the age of five months must be licensed, microchipped
and vaccinated against rabies; and a person who contravenes any one of these
requirements is liable to a fine of $10,000. Moreover, a person who imports
animals into Hong Kong without a valid permit is liable to a fine of $50,000 and
to imprisonment for one year. In this connection, will the Government inform
this Council:
(a) in each of the past three years, of the respective numbers of cases in which
fines were imposed by the Court on persons who contravened the above
requirements on licensing, implantation of microchips and vaccination, as well
as the number of convictions for importing dogs and cats into Hong Kong without
permits, and the number of dogs and cats involved; and
(b) how the law enforcement agencies such as the Agriculture, Fisheries and
Conservation Department, the Customs and Excise Department and the Hong Kong
Police Force have cooperated to combat the smuggling of dogs and cats, and what
actions have been taken in this regard; whether such actions include regular
inspection of the pet shops in Hong Kong to ascertain if there were dogs and
cats in those shops which had been illegally imported into Hong Kong; if regular
inspections had been conducted, of the inspection results in the past three
years; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
Hong Kong has an impressive track record in rabies control, and has been
rabies-free for the past 19 years. The last rabies case in animals was reported
in 1987.
Maintenance of our rabies-free status hinges upon the effective rabies
regulatory regime established under the Rabies Ordinance (Cap 421). According to
Cap. 421, all dogs over 5 months of age must be licensed, implanted with
microchip and vaccinated against rabies, and the license must be renewed and the
dog receiving a booster vaccination every three years. Offenders may be liable
to a fine of $10,000. The Government Animal Management Centers and authorised
private veterinary practitioners provide the services of issuing license,
implanting microchip and rabies vaccination. The Agriculture, Fisheries and
Conservation Department (AFCD) also carry out anti-rabies campaigns targeted at
dogs on fishing boats and in villages in the New Territories.
(1) For the past three years, the numbers of prosecution cases for contravention
of the licensing, microchipping and vaccination requirements are shown in Table
1.
Over the past three years, the figures of imported dogs and cats without a
permit are shown in Table 2.
(2) In an effort to combat the smuggling of dogs and cats, AFCD, together with
the Customs and Excise Department and the Police, conducts search operations
against illegal importation of dogs and cats at the airport and borders on
travellers, vehicles and boats entering Hong Kong. AFCD also conducts routine
checks on local pet shops, during which valid vaccination certificates for the
dogs and cats on sale are inspected. The dogs will also be checked to see if
they have been microchipped. If a pet shop has not met all the requirements as
specified in the Animal Trader License or is suspected of importing animals
illegally, further investigation will be conducted. If there is sufficient
evidence, AFCD will make prosecutions. Statistics on AFCD's routine checks on
local pet shops from 2004 to 2006 are shown in Table 3.
Moreover, AFCD welcomes information or reports from members of the public on
illegal importation of dogs and cats as well as traders who sell these animals
without an Animal Trader License.
Ends/Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Issued at HKT 13:21
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Attachment:
Table 1,2,&3 to LCQ15