Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ16: Euthanasia of animals
Following is a question by the Hon Claudia Mo and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council
today (April 17):
Question:
In recent years, the Government earmarked about $1.3 million per year for
the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) to euthanise
animals. Many animal welfare groups have expressed concern in this regard.
In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the actual expenditure incurred by AFCD for catching and
euthanising animals in the past three financial years, together with the
detailed accounts (such as the costs for purchasing medical equipment and
the administration expenses, etc.);
(b) of the detailed causes for the rise of the unit euthanasia cost from
$102 in 2009-2010 to $138 in 2011-2012;
(c) of the respective numbers of those animals reclaimed/re-homed and
euthanised among the stray animals caught by AFCD in the past three
financial years; for how long such animals had been kept on average before
they were reclaimed/re-homed or euthanised;
(d) of the number of abandoned animals received by AFCD in 2012-2013; the
respective numbers of those animals reclaimed/re-homed and euthansed among
the animals received by AFCD in the past three financial years;
(e) whether the animals' health conditions are a major factor in AFCD's
consideration for euthanasia; of the number of healthy animals euthanised
in the past three financial years;
(f) whether AFCD has formulated clear criteria and detailed practical
guidelines on animal euthanasia for relevant staff members and veterinary
surgeons to follow; if it has, of the details, as well as the dates on
which such criteria and guidelines were formulated and last revised, and
whether there is a third party to monitor the compliance or otherwise of
the process of animal euthanasia with the guidelines; if there are no
criteria and guidelines, whether AFCD will consider formulating them and
stipulating in the guidelines the requirement for a third party to monitor
the whole process;
(g) of the methods currently adopted by AFCD to euthanise animals, and
whether such methods include the use of inhalable gases and drug
injection; if such methods are included, of the gases and drugs used, as
well as the parts of the animal's body (e.g. veins in the limbs, veins in
the neck or the heart) where the injection is administered; and
(h) of the measures implemented by AFCD in 2012-2013 to enhance the
management of stray animals and promote animal welfare, as well as the
actual expenditure incurred?
Reply:
President,
On the re-homing of animals, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation
Department (AFCD) has all along been working in close collaboration with
and providing support to animal welfare organisations, including offering
free neutering services to cats and dogs that are re-homed by these
organisations. Through the concerted efforts of all parties, the number of
cats and dogs euthanised in recent years has been declining.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) The expenditure incurred by AFCD for catching and euthanising animals
in the past three financial years is set out at Annex 1.
(b) The increase in the average unit cost for euthanasia is mainly due to
the continuous decrease in the number of animals euthanised while other
fixed expenditure has remained more or less the same.
(c) and (d) The number of stray animals caught, the number of abandoned
animals received by AFCD, as well as the number of animals reclaimed by
their owners, re-homed and euthanised over the past three years are set
out at Annex 2.
In 2010, the stray animals were kept by AFCD for 7.5 days on average
before they were reclaimed by their owners, re-homed or euthanised. The
corresponding figure in 2011 and 2012 was 7.6 days and 8.1 days
respectively.
(e) Generally speaking, stray animals caught or abandoned animals received
will first be sent to AFCD's Animal Management Centres for observation.
Health conditions permitting, the animals will stay for four days. During
the observation period, veterinary officers on duty will closely monitor
the animals' health and other conditions to ascertain their suitability
for re-homing. Unclaimed animals will be passed to animal welfare
organisations for re-homing if they are found to be healthy and of a mild
temperament. Only 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.
AFCD does not keep statistics on the number of animals assessed to be in
good health but euthanised eventually.
(f) AFCD handles stray and abandoned animals in accordance with the
relevant legislation in Hong Kong, including the Pounds Ordinance (Cap.
168), the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170) and the Rabies
Ordinance (Cap. 421). AFCD has developed guidelines on euthanasia of
animals for observance by relevant staff and veterinary officers. The gist
of the guidelines, which were last revised in October 2009, is summarised
in the first paragraph of part (e). Euthanasia of animals will be
performed in the presence of at least one Field Officer and one Veterinary
Officer.
(g) At present, AFCD uses injection of general anaesthetics to euthanise
animals. The parts of the animal's body where the injection is
administered will be determined by the veterinary officer in light of the
circumstances. Injection is normally performed in the muscle (thigh or
buttocks) first and then in the heart.
(h) In 2012-13, AFCD has vigorously pursued various measures to manage
animals and promote animal welfare. These include (i) implementing a
strengthened education and publicity programme to promote animal welfare
and responsible pet ownership; (ii) devising codes of practices for the
proper trading and keeping of pets and other animals; (iii) stepping up
enforcement actions against pet owners and traders in contravention of
relevant animal laws; (iv) improving the handling of animal cruelty
reports or complaints through an inter-departmental special working group
comprising representatives of the relevant government departments and the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; (v) strengthening
collaboration with and the provision of technical and financial support to
animal welfare organisations in re-homing of animals and conducting
activities relating to animal welfare and management; (vi) providing
technical support and assistance to the relevant animal welfare
organisations in the implementing and monitoring the "Trap-Neuter-Return"
trial scheme for dogs; and (vii) setting up a dedicated cattle team to
implement a long term strategy for the management of stray cattle
population in collaboration with relevant animal welfare organisations and
local communities. An additional provision of $4.9 million has been
allocated for the implementation of the above enhanced measures in
2012-13.
Ends/Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:55
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LCQ16 Annex