(CN - HK) Plea to keep dogs at public housing estates

August 25, 2008

South China Morning post

CITY By Dennis Chong

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2008-08-25

Plea to keep dogs at public housing estates

Twenty public housing tenants protested yesterday to demand that the

government allow them to keep their pets in their flats.

They marched from the Legislative Council Building to government

headquarters in Central and handed in a petition. Leung Ka-wing, a Form Six

student and chair of the Hong Kong Public Housing Estates' Dogs League, said

that it was unfair to ban the animals because residents could prevent them

from being a nuisance.

" I don't think we are causing trouble to anyone, " she said.

Ka-wing said the government had recently stepped up its enforcement of the

ban on dogs in public housing. She had received a letter from the Housing

Department warning her to remove her dog soon.

In 2003, the government allowed tenants in certain public housing estates to

register their dogs and continue to keep them, but the policy did not apply

to all residences. David Wong, a member of the International Organisation

for Animal Protection, said it was unfair to ban dogs from public estates.

" If you ban dogs because some of them are annoying, do you ban mahjong if

four people are making noise? " he said.

Ada Wong Ying-kay, a former chairwoman of the Wan Chai District Council who

supports the movement, said the government should show some respect to dogs

and their owners. " A harmonious society is supposed to have tolerance. "

The Housing Authority said it did not plan to change its policy.

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