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Following is the speech by the Acting Secretary for the Environment and Food, Mr Paul Tang, in moving the motion to approve the Dangerous Dogs Regulation in the Legislative Council today (May 17):

Madam President,

The Chief Executive in Council made the Dangerous Dogs Regulation under Section 3 of the Dogs and Cats Ordinance (Cap. 167) on 15 June 1999. I now move that the Dangerous Dogs Regulation be approved subject to the proposed amendments set out in the Resolution circulated to Members.

Section 3 of the Dogs and Cats Ordinance provides that the Chief Executive in Council may make regulations for the control of dogs. It also provides that such regulations shall be subject to the approval of the Legislative Council.

The Dangerous Dogs Regulation aims to safeguard the public from attacks by dangerous dogs through more focused control. It suggests that dangerous dogs be classified into three categories, namely, "fighting dogs", "known dangerous dogs" and "large dogs" and stipulates the control measures to be applied to each of these categories.

The "fighting dogs" category will consist of the Pit Bull Terrier and dogs of similar breeds. These dogs are liable to attack people without provocation or warning, inflicting serious injuries, which may well be fatal. Under the Regulation, the import and breeding of such dogs will be prohibited. It will also be an offence to keep such dogs unless they are neutered.

The "known dangerous dogs" category will consist of dogs that have killed or inflicted serious bodily injuries on a person or a domestic animal without provocation, or have a history of repeatedly attacking people or putting people in fear of being attacked. Only a magistrate has the power to classify such dogs as known dangerous dogs on application. The Regulation also prohibits the keeping of such dogs unless they are neutered.

Under the Regulation, it will be an offence for any person to allow "fighting dogs" or "known dangerous dogs" to go into or remain in a public place unless they are held on a leash of a specified length and muzzled.

It is our aim to phase out fighting dogs over a period of seven to ten years and to prevent known dangerous dogs from passing on their aggressive characteristics to their offspring. The neutering requirement is essential to achieve this aim. If there is no neutering requirement, there will be illegal breeding activities and we cannot provide sufficient safeguard to the public. Furthermore, neutering is not cruel and has no long lasting negative effect on dogs. Indeed, neutering is accepted by local and international animal welfare organisations as an effective and humane way to prevent animals from breeding. According to published studies, neutered dogs have shown to be less likely to bite and less aggressive towards other animals than their unneutered counterparts. The proposal of neutering fighting dogs is also in line with the international practice where neutering is mandatory for Pit Bull Terriers and other fighting dogs in Singapore, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and some states of Australia.

The "large dogs" category will consist of all dogs weighing 20 kilograms or above. Statistics collected between April 1997 and March 1999 showed that some 70% of the investigated dog bite cases were caused by dogs with an estimated body weight of 20 kilograms or above. Besides, all the serious cases in public places which resulted in hospitalisation of victims were caused by large dogs. The proposed large dog category would cover most chows and mongrel dogs.

The Regulation has been scrutinised by a Legislative Council Subcommittee set up in June 1999. As a result, a number of amendments have been proposed. These amendments are set out in the Resolution circulated to Members and have been accepted by the Subcommittee. They are mainly related to the ex-gratia payments to dog owners for surrender of existing fighting dogs, the control of large dogs and the power to amend two Schedules to the Regulation.

To encourage voluntary surrender of fighting dogs, we originally proposed to grant an ex-gratia payment of $3,000 each to any owner who surrender an existing fighting dog to the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation for destruction during the transitional period of 120 days. The Subcommittee has however voted for the removal of this provision and we have amended Section 20 of the Regulation accordingly.

While we agree that the muzzling requirement for large dogs set out in Section 9 of the original Regulation be removed, the leashing control is considered essential. Under the current legislation, a dog is required to be "on leash or otherwise under control". Experience has shown that it is difficult to prove that an unleashed dog is not "otherwise under control" and to prosecute the irresponsible dog owners The proposed leashing requirement for large dogs will address the enforcement difficulties under the current legislation. It also provides appropriate control measure to help prevent dog bite cases. This is in line with the practice adopted in countries such as Singapore and Ireland where leashing control is imposed on specified large dog breeds.

The original Regulation proposed that the leashing requirement will not apply to large dogs in country parks or special areas within the meaning of the Country Parks Ordinance (Cap. 208). The country parks account for about 40% of the total land area of Hong Kong, many of which are located in the urban areas and easily accessible. They would provide ample space for large dogs to be exercised freely. We have agreed to extend this provision to cover dogs swimming at sea in response to a suggestion that the leashing requirement should be waived in marine parks. We consider that under the revised Regulation there would be ample opportunities for large dogs to be exercised off leash.

In addition, the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation is prepared to grant exemption under section 17 of the Dogs and Cats Ordinance to trained dogs if they can demonstrate, through examination, that they are not aggressive and can be controlled off leash. We have also agreed to bring the parts of the Regulation concerning the control of large dogs into operation six months after the revised Regulation is passed by the Legislative Council to enable dog owners to become familiar with the examination. Nevertheless, given the greater risk posed by "fighting dogs" and "known dangerous dogs" to the safety of the public, we will bring the parts of the Regulation regarding these two dogs categories into operation as soon as possible after the revised Regulation is approved by the Legislative Council.

The original Regulation empowers the Secretary for Economic Services (now the Secretary for the Environment and Food) to amend Schedule 1 (which specifies the weight criterion of large dogs) and Schedule 2 (which stipulates the types of dogs classified as fighting dogs). As requested by the Subcommittee, we have revised the Regulation to the effect that any amendments to these Schedules shall be subject to positive vetting by the Legislative Council.

Madam President, the Regulation, with the proposed amendments before Members, strikes the right balance between the need to safeguard public safety and the need to look after the interests of dog lovers. I urge Members to support and approve the Dangerous Dogs Regulation and the proposed amendments to it.

Thank you.

End/Wednesday, May 17, 2000

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