Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ16: Re-homing of animals
Following is a question by the Hon Gary Fan and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative
Council today (January 22):
Question:
According to the Government's reply to a question raised by a Member of
this Council last year, among the animals received or caught by the
Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in each of the
past three years, over 8 000 were euthanised (around 60%) and only 7% to
8% re-homed. In this connection, will the Government inform this
Council:
(1) of a breakdown, by the breed of the animals (such as mongrel,
British shorthair, lop-eared rabbit, etc.), of the number of animals
euthanised by AFCD in each of the past three years;
(2) of the respective expenditures incurred by AFCD on taking care of
the animals received or caught, as well as promoting re-homing of such
animals in each of the past three years (including venue rentals and
advertising fees);
(3) of the voluntary animal welfare groups which have entered into
partnership with AFCD for the provision of animal re-homing service at
present;
(4) of the existing criteria adopted by AFCD for determining which
animal welfare groups to be chosen as partners in the provision of
animal re-homing service, evaluating the effectiveness of collaboration
and deciding whether collaboration with such groups will continue;
(5) of the number of activities conducted by AFCD to promote animal
re-homing in the past three years, as well as the details of each
activity, including the (i) date, (ii) name, (iii) form, (iv) organiser
and supporting organisations, (v) number of animals involved, and (vi)
number of the animals re-homed (set out in Table 1);
(6) whether AFCD conducted promotional activities in the past three
years in collaboration with individual pet shops to promote animal
re-homing; if so, of the details of each activity, including the (i)
date, (ii) name, (iii) form, (iv) organiser and supporting organisations,
(v) number of animals involved, and (vi) number of animals re-homed (set
out in Table 2); if not, the reasons for that; and
(7) given the space and resource constraints of the Animal Management
Centres under AFCD, whether AFCD will, by making reference to the
"Foster Parent Programme" of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals, consider introducing a Foster Family Programme so that
animals are given more time, and hence more chances, to get re-homed by
members of the public; if it will, of the details and timetable of the
programme; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
On the re-homing of animals, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation
Department (AFCD) has all along been working in close collaboration with
animal welfare organisations and lending support where appropriate,
including offering free neutering services to cats and dogs suitable for
re-homing. 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) Annex 3 gives the number of dogs, cats and other animals euthanised
in the past three years. The AFCD does not keep a breakdown by the breed
of the animals.
(b) Annex 4 gives the expenditure incurred by the AFCD in receiving and
catching animals as well as promoting animal re-homing in the past three
years.
(c) At present, the AFCD is partnering with a total of 12 animal welfare
organisations in arranging re-homing for animals abandoned or
surrendered. These organisations include the Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (Hong Kong), Society for Abandoned Animals, Hong
Kong Dog Rescue, Hong Kong Rabbit Society, Hong Kong Society of
Herpetology Foundation, Hong Kong Alley Cat Watch, Lifelong Animal
Protection Charity, HK Rescue Puppies, Lamma Animal Welfare Centre,
Protection of Animals Lantau South, Sai Kung Stray Friends, and Asian
and Hong Kong Dachshund Society.
(d) The AFCD considers a number of factors before deciding whether to
cooperate with an organisation in arranging re-homing for stray animals
caught, including the scale of the organisation's facilities, its
experience and past records in animal keeping, performance in providing
re-homing services (especially in areas including the vetting
procedures, documentation and taking follow-up actions in re-homing
cases), and whether the re-homing projects are non-profit-making in
nature. The AFCD keeps the status of the organisations under regular
review for determining whether to continue the co-operation.
(e) The re-homing activities organised by the AFCD over the past three
years together with relevant related information are set out at Annex 5.
Apart from these re-homing activities, the AFCD also organises various
kinds of promotional activities every year, such as seminars at schools
and public housing estates, roving exhibitions in different venues
(including MTR stations) and joint educational programmes with other
organisations, with a view to promoting care for animals, adoption of
animals and responsible pet ownership.
(f) The AFCD has not co-organised with individual pet shops activities
for promoting re-homing. The main purpose of promoting animal re-homing
is to find a second home for stray animals or abandoned animals which
are healthy and of a mild temperament so that they can be taken care of
again. The AFCD considers it more appropriate to partner with
non-profit-making animal welfare organisations in this regard.
(g) For any mode of re-homing service (including fostering service), it
is necessary to assess the suitability of a prospective adopter, the
living environment available for animal adoption, and to take follow-up
actions to see if the adopter is taking proper care of the animal. The
AFCD considers it more appropriate for non-profit-making animal welfare
organisations which are armed with the relevant experience and adopter
network to provide such services.
Ends/Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Issued at HKT 19:10
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LCQ16 Annex 1
LCQ16 Annex 2
LCQ16 Annex 3
LCQ16 Annex 4
LCQ16 Annex 5