[HK] SCMP: Government admits killing 10,000 dogs a year as pet trade comes under the spotlight

[Guest guest]

South China Morning Post

 

 

Government admits killing 10,000 dogs a year as pet trade comes under the

spotlight

 

 

 

Martin Wong

Updated on Jun 10, 2009

 

 

About 10,000 dogs and 4,000 cats are put down each year by the government,

it was revealed yesterday as lawmakers discussed a proposal to regulate the

pet trade.

 

During a food safety and environmental hygiene panel meeting in the

Legislative Council, undersecretary for food and health Gabriel Leung said

the government hoped to tighten control of the sources of dogs offered for

sale, for public health and animal welfare reasons.

 

Legislative Councillor Cyd Ho Sau-lan asked how many animals were destroyed

by the government, adding that it would be odd to put animals down but do

nothing to control breeding.

 

Thomas Sit Hon-chung, assistant director of the Agriculture, Fisheries and

Conservation Department, said about 10,000 dogs, including strays, were put

down each year on average, while the figure for cats was 4,000. He said the

figures had fallen since the 1970s, when 40,000 dogs were killed a year.

About 18,000 a year were killed in the 1990s.

 

Professor Leung pointed out that, under the proposal, pet shops would have

to ensure that dogs they sold were acquired from other pets shops or

breeders with valid documents.

 

For dogs acquired from private pet owners, pet shops should ensure that

valid licences were held or that the dogs were the offspring of a licensed

dog.

 

Unionist legislator Wong Kwok-hing asked why the proposal only covered dogs.

" I believed illegal breeding not only concerned dogs. It seems the

government is not comprehensive enough, " he said.

 

Mr Wong also asked if the proposal could tackle the selling and purchasing

of pets through the internet and cross-border illegal trading

 

Professor Leung replied: " The sale of pets on the Net is not a new problem.

And according to our current regulations, a pet, no matter if it is a cat, a

dog or any [other] kind, cannot be sold ... via the internet or in any other

way without an Animal Trader Licence. "

 

The proposal only addressed the issue of dog breeding as that was the

problem raised by lawmakers when they discussed the matter last year, he

said.

 

Mr Sit said that dogs were considered a priority as rabies was still a

problem in the region. " If this proposal is successful, we may extend it to

other pet animals, " he said.

 

David Wong Kai-yan of Hong Kong animal rights group Animal Earth, supported

tightening the regulations but questioned whether it would be effective in

tackling the problem of illegal breeding on the mainland and animal

smuggling.

 

" Pet shops and animal concern associations also worry about the smuggling of

dogs. I wonder if there are the resources to inspect all family breeders?

Also, why is it the responsibility of pet shops to make sure pets are in

good health and come from legitimate sources? Why do they have to take all

the responsibility? "