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Following is a question by the Hon Andrey Eu and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (January 20):
Question:
It was reported that a member of the public, after learning that the three stray dogs staying in her neighbourhood had been caught by the staff of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), claimed to be the dogs' owner to prevent them from being euthanised, but she was eventually charged for failing to obtain the licences required for the dogs she kept. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the numbers of stray cats and dogs received by AFCD last year; and among the cats and dogs caught and received by AFCD, the respective numbers of those reclaimed by their owners and adopted by the public;
(b) whether the authorities have any mechanism in place at present for reviewing the cases in which stray animals are assessed by the veterinary officers of AFCD that they should be euthanised; if not, of the reasons for that;
(c) whether the authorities will consider amending the relevant legislation and reviewing the existing measures, so as to encourage more people to apply for the adoption of stray animals and prevent people from being prosecuted for offences similar to the aforesaid one;
(d) how the authorities determine the time that a stray animal can stay in AFCD's animal management centre after being caught or received and before they are finally adopted or euthanised; whether the authorities will consider extending the time limit for the application for adopting such animals, so that the animal welfare organisations concerned will have sufficient time to apply for adoption to prevent such animals from being euthanised unnecessarily;
(e) of the reasons for the authorities allowing members of the public to adopt animals which have been caught or received by them only through animal welfare organisations at present; whether they will consider allowing members of the public to apply directly to AFCD's animal management centre for adoption of the animals caught; if not, of the reasons for that;
(f) of the details of the authorities' existing vetting and approval for applications from animal welfare organisations for participating in the AFCD Re-home Scheme; whether they will consider amending the relevant conditions, so as to encourage more organisations to participate in this Scheme; and
(g) of the details of the authorities' latest publicity work on the Re-home Scheme; whether they will step up publicity so that more members of the public will participate in this Scheme?
Reply:
President,
(a) The number of stray cats and dogs caught or cats and dogs received from owners by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in 2009 is 15,600. Among them, 1,550 were reclaimed by their owners and 740 re-homed.
(b) Generally speaking, stray animals caught or animals received from owners will first be sent to AFCD's Animal Management Centres for observation. During the observation period, veterinary officers on duty will closely monitor the animals' health and other conditions to ensure their suitability for re-homing. Health conditions permitting, the animals will stay for four days so their owners may reclaim them. Unclaimed dogs and cats will be passed to animal welfare organisations for re-homing if they are found to be healthy and of an acceptable temperament. Only animals which are assessed to be unsuitable for re-homing due to health or temperament reasons, or could not be re-homed by animal welfare organisations will be euthanised. In case there are animal welfare organisations which object to the assessment of AFCD's veterinary officers, AFCD will, on the merits of each individual case, re-examine relevant cases in detail.
(c) AFCD will continue to collaborate with 11 non-profit-making voluntary animal welfare organisations to encourage and provide the public with avenues for animal re-homing. Members of the public who adopt animals in accordance with the established procedures will not be prosecuted. As such, the Administration has no plans to amend the relevant legislation.
(d) Under the legislation, if the keeper of a stray or abandoned animal cannot be found or ascertained within four days after the commencement of the detention, the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation may order the forfeiture of the animal, in which case he may retain it as he considers appropriate.
If stray or abandoned dogs are implanted with microchips, AFCD's Animal Management Centres will contact their keepers according to the data. As regards other animals including cats, the Centres will keep in view should there be any relevant reports on lost animals.
Upon expiry of the four-day detention, if there is no information showing that the detained animals have been reported lost or kept, the veterinary officers will then conduct health checks and temperament assessments on the animals to evaluate if they are suitable for re-homing. AFCD's Animal Management Centres will maintain close liaison with the animal welfare organisations and, having regard to their different requirements, arrange animals suitable for re-homing for their selection. Only animals which are assessed to be unsuitable for re-homing due to health or temperament reasons, or could not be re-homed by animal welfare organisations will be euthanised.
(e) As re-homing service involves the need to assess the suitability of an adopter and his/her living environment for adoption and follow up on whether the adopter has taken proper care of the animal, it is more appropriate for non-profit-making voluntary animal welfare organisations to provide animal re-homing service.
(f) There are currently 11 participating animal welfare organisations under the AFCD Re-home Scheme. They are all reputable non-profit-making animal welfare organisations with good track records in providing animal re-homing service. AFCD needs to take into account various vetting criteria including the scale and operation of these organisations, their vetting procedure, filing and follow-up of animal re-homing cases and the non-profit-making nature of their animal re-homing projects, etc. AFCD is conducting a review and considering strengthening the vetting criteria.
(g) Detailed information on re-homing arrangements is available at AFCD's website to encourage the public to adopt stray animals through animal welfare organisations. AFCD will also enhance public awareness of the re-homing arrangements through promotional and educational activities, for instance, the animal welfare exhibition organised by AFCD in September 2009.
Ends/Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:07
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