Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ11: Abandoned and stray animals

Following is a question by the Hon Wong Yung-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (February 4):

Question:

Will the Government inform this Council of:

(a) the number of abandoned or stray cats and dogs which were caught or received by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in each of the past three years and, among them, the respective numbers of those which have been adopted and euthanised;

(b) the number of prosecutions instituted by AFCD against owners of abandoned dogs under the Rabies Ordinance (Cap. 421) in the past two years; and

(c) the new measures in place to tackle the problem of abandoned or stray cats and dogs?

Reply:

President,

(a) Generally speaking, stray animals caught or animals received from owners will stay at the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department's (AFCD) Animal Management Centres temporarily. Health conditions permitting, the animals will stay for four days so their owners may reclaim them. Arrangements will be made for unclaimed dogs and cats to be re-homed through animal welfare organisations if they are found to be healthy and of an acceptable temperament. Animals that could not be re-homed will be euthanised. The number of stray dogs and cats caught or received by AFCD in the past three years is tabulated at Annex.

(b) AFCD initiated 155 and 151 prosecutions against persons for abandoning their dogs or allowing their dogs to go astray under the Rabies Ordinance (Cap. 421) in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

(c) The Rabies Ordinance requires dog keepers to ensure that their dogs aged five months or above must be micro-chipped. Also, according to the licensing conditions stipulated under the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Animal Traders) Regulations (Cap. 139B), all dogs on sale at pet shops must be implanted with a microchip. This will help AFCD staff to locate owners of stray dogs caught and arrange reclamation.

AFCD will closely follow up the investigation of all animal abandonment cases. The Department will consider prosecuting an animal owner if there is sufficient evidence that he/she has abandoned the animal or has allowed his/her dog to go astray. In the past two years, over 300 successful prosecutions against animal owners for abandoning his/her animal or allowing his/her dog to go astray were made, that is to say almost all prosecutions led to a conviction.

In fact, we believe the most effective way to address the problem of abandoned and stray animals is to bring home the message of responsible pet ownership and well-treating the animals. As such, AFCD has been endeavouring to promote responsible pet ownership through various channels and at different levels, including broadcasting Announcements of Public Interest on television and radio, and putting up posters on public transport on safeguarding animal welfare. In addition, AFCD produced promotional leaflets, posters and souvenirs for free distribution to the public. Activities such as slogan competitions were also organised to enhance publicity. The "Love for Life" carnival held in March 2008 and the ongoing animal welfare roving exhibition are some of the examples. AFCD will continue its work in this regard to further promote the message of responsible pet ownership.


Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:46

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Annex to LCQ11