(CN - HKG) Animal rights activists call for free sterilisation

May 3, 2010

South China Morning Post

By Danny Mok

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May 03, 2010

Hundreds of animal rights advocates took to the streets yesterday to call on

the government to provide free animal sterilisation as a solution to the

problem of strays.

The rally's co-organiser Happy Animals said 700 people took part - along

with their dogs and cats - in the march that started from the Mong Kok Civic

Triangle on Lai Chi Kok Road at about 3pm. Police put the figure at 500.

The protesters, who held banners and shouted slogans on their march to the

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department headquarters in Cheung

Sha Wan, want the department to help sterilise strays in a " trap, neuter,

vaccinate and return " (TNVR) campaign, instead of catching and killing the

animals if they are not adopted in time.

Carmen Chan Wai-man, the group's executive officer, said the department's

practice of killing the animals was inhumane and outdated, and urged the

government to review its policy.

She said TNVR was the best option to tackle the problem of stray animals

because it was the only way to stabilise their numbers and lessen the

problems they caused. The department's figures showed 13,310 dogs and cats

were put down last year, she said. A department spokesman said it had held

discussions with animal concern groups about adopting TNVR. A consultation

in 2007 showed that nine of the city's 18 district councils were keen to

adopt the policy, but seven opposed it.

He said that support from residents in all districts was crucial to the

campaign's success, and that the most effective solution to the problem of

abandoned animals was to promote responsibility among pet owners.

Also yesterday, about 50 people and their pets demonstrated to urge police

to set up a team to deal with animal abuse in Wan Chai.

The rally, organised by lawmaker Gary Chan Hak-kan, ended outside the police

headquarters on Arsenal Street.

The lawmaker said such a squad was necessary because police investigations

into recent animal abuse cases had shown no progress, and signalled that the

current way of handling such cases was not good enough. Officers were also

rude in dealing with people who reported abuse, he said.

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