Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ4: Abandoned and stray animals

Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (May 12):

Question:

According to the information provided by the Food and Health Bureau earlier, the number of animals euthanised by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in 2007 to 2009 ranged from about 13,000 to 18,000, which on average represented 76% of the total number of animals received by the department each year. It has been reported that apart from cats and dogs, the animals kept by AFCD for other government departments were also euthanised (e.g. the nearly 100 tortoises transferred by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department from North District Park at the end of 2008 and the Water Monitors, commonly known as "golden dragon with five claws" and classified as an endangered species, which were seized by the Customs and Excise Department in March this year). Such a practice has aroused criticisms from animal lovers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether AFCD has set a target that a certain minimum percentage of animals received each year have to be euthanised; if so, how the target was set; of the assessments made by AFCD before deciding to euthanise the animals, and whether it will seek the views of non-profit-making animal welfare organisations and other government departments; if it will, of the details; if it will not, the reasons for that; whether AFCD has set up an internal monitoring mechanism to prevent the indiscriminate killing of animals;

(b) given that existing legislation stipulates that if the owner of a stray or abandoned animal cannot be found or ascertained within four days after the commencement of the detention of the animal, the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation may order the forfeiture of the animal and decide whether it should be retained, euthanised or otherwise disposed of, of the factors based on which such a number of days was set by the authorities; and whether they will review such an arrangement or amend the legislation; and

(c) given that the number of animals handed over by AFCD to non-profit-making animal welfare organisations for re-homing arrangements has all along been on the low side, whether the authorities will consider expanding such collaboration programme, so as to reduce the number of animals euthanised; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

The animals handled by the Animal Management Centres (AMCs) of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) mainly come from three sources: (i) animals received from their owners; (b) stray animals caught on streets or in the wild; and (c) animals received through other special sources, such as endangered animals seized in the operations of the Customs and Excise Department.

Generally speaking, once stray animals are caught or animals are received from owners, they are taken to the AFCD's AMCs for observation. During the observation period, veterinary officers on duty will monitor the animals' health and other conditions to ascertain their suitability for re-homing. Health conditions permitting, the animals will be arranged to stay at the AMCs for at least four days pending reclaim by their owners. For those unclaimed animals which are in good health, have a mild temperament and are considered by veterinary surgeons to be suitable for re-homing, the AFCD will arrange for them to be sent to animal welfare organisations for possible adoption. Apart from cats and dogs, the Re-home Scheme also covers other kinds of animals, such as rabbits, birds and reptiles. As for endangered animals sent to the AMCs, the AFCD will first contact the countries of origin of these endangered animals. If they are willing to take the animals back, the AFCD will arrange for the animals to be repatriated. Otherwise, the AFCD will make arrangements for the animals to be adopted by those local organisations which are equipped with suitable facilities and capable of offering proper care, such as Ocean Park and Kadoorie Farm.

Given that most households in Hong Kong have limited living area, smaller animals with a mild temperament are more popular with adopting families. However, stray animals caught by the AMCs are mostly dogs that are relatively large in size. Having lived on the streets or in the wild for a long time and had little contact with people, their temperament is often unpredictable. As many of these animals are often sick, or are infected with skin diseases or parasites, they face difficulties in being re-homed. Besides, the demand for animal adoption is also subject to other socio-economic factors, such as whether one is willing to devote time and resources to take care of the adopted animals. Therefore, at present there are still not enough families that are genuinely willing and suitable to adopt animals. As such, many animal welfare organisations providing animal re-homing services are often unable to find suitable adopting families. These organisations can only leave the animals at temporary shelters until suitable adopters are identified, or return them to the AMCs of the AFCD. My reply to various parts of the question is as follows:

(a) The AFCD definitely does not set any target for the number of animals received to be euthanised. Only those animals which are assessed to be unsuitable for re-homing due to health or temperament reasons, or cannot be re-homed by animal welfare organisations, will be euthanised. The Government's veterinary surgeons, with their professional knowledge and integrity, are well qualified to assess the animals' health condition, temperament and suitability for re-homing before making any decision regarding euthanasia of animals. There is no such thing as "indiscriminate killing of animals".

There has been a decline in the number of stray cats and dogs caught or received by the AFCD in recent years. The figure decreased from 18,760 in 2007 to 15,600 in 2009. Coupled with an increase in the number of cats and dogs being reclaimed or re-homed, there has been a corresponding decline in the number of euthanasia cases, falling from 16,770 in 2007 to 13,310 in 2009.

(b) Under the Rabies Ordinance, where the keeper of an animal detained by the AFCD cannot after reasonable inquiry be found or ascertained within four days after the commencement of such detention, the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation may order the forfeiture of the animal. The AFCD may then either retain the animal or cause it to be sold, destroyed or otherwise disposed of.

In fact, the four-day time frame is just the minimum statutory period. If a stray animal caught is implanted with a microchip, it will normally stay in an AMC for 10 to 20 days, during which the AMC will try to locate the registered owner of the animal.

It is reasonable to set the minimum statutory period for reclaiming lost animals at four days. As a matter of fact, responsible pet owners will try to find their lost pets by contacting the AFCD as early as possible.

(c) There are currently 11 participating animal welfare organisations under the AFCD Re-home Scheme. The AFCD takes into account a set of criteria for vetting the organisations, including the scale and operation of their facilities, the availability of a well-established vetting, filing and follow-up system of re-homing cases, and the non-profit-making nature of their re-homing services, etc. As it is necessary to assess the suitability of an adopter as well as his or her living environment for animal adoption and to follow up on whether the adopter is taking proper care of the animal, it is more appropriate for non-profit-making voluntary animal welfare organisations to provide animal re-homing service. The AFCD is now conducting a review on strengthening the criteria for vetting these organisations. Upon completion of the review, the AFCD will consider whether the scheme would be expanded.

Meanwhile, the AFCD actively organises promotional and educational activities to encourage members of the public to adopt stray animals through animal welfare organisations.

As a matter of fact, we consider that the most effective way to tackle the problem of abandoned or stray animals is to raise public awareness of responsible pet ownership, which involves treating pets as members of the family and taking proper care of them. Pets must not be bought on a whim or abandoned lightly. Besides, they should not be made to become a source of nuisance to others. To this end, the AFCD has all along been stepping up promotion and education at various levels and through different channels, including broadcasting Announcements of Public Interest on television and radio as well as putting up posters promoting care for animals on public transport carriers. In addition, the AFCD produces promotional leaflets, posters and souvenirs for free distribution to the public and organises other promotional activities to enhance publicity.

Thank you, President.


Ends/Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:17

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