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The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) today (December 20) appealed to people not to impulsively give animals as gifts.
"Anyone who is considering purchasing an animal as a gift must first establish that the recipient is able to provide proper care for the pet. When someone decides to keep a pet, they should treat it as a pet for life and not a disposable commodity," a spokesman said.
"Everyone should respect the life of animals. Pet-keeping is a long term commitment and abandoning animals is an irresponsible act."
The AFCD collaborates with several animal welfare organisations in providing animal re-homing services. People who are interested in adopting animals can make adoption arrangements through these animal welfare organisations. Information on them may be found on the AFCD website www.afcd.gov.hk .
AFCD will launch a new set of television and radio Announcements in the Public Interest this month to urge people to give adequate care to their pets and not abandon them.
Ends/Sunday, December 20, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:00
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