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Following is a question by the Hon Miriam Lau and a reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (May 5):
Question:
To enhance inter-departmental co-operation, the Police, Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department as well as Food and Environmental Hygiene Department drew up in early 2008 new operating protocols in respect of the procedures for initial handling of reports of suspected cruelty to animals, as well as subsequent investigation and follow-up actions. Meanwhile, the Police have also adopted new measures focusing on districts with an upward trend of cases of cruelty to animals and will assign designated teams to follow up and investigate. Yet, it has been reported that recently there is an aggravating trend in cases of cruelty to animals. For example, there were cases of stray cats being thrown from a height causing tragic death and being soaked in cement resulting in skin ulcer, as well as a stray cat having its left leg cut off. Moreover, some wild monkeys were injured after being shot by air guns and stun guns. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of complaints about cruelty to animals received by the Government since the implementation of the aforesaid new operating protocols and in the year before that, and among such cases, the respective numbers of those in which follow-up actions were taken, prosecutions were instituted and the persons involved were convicted, as well as the penalties imposed on them;
(b) of the districts in which the Police adopted the aforesaid new measures in the past three years; and
(c) whether the authorities have reviewed the effectiveness of the various aforesaid measures; if they have, of the criteria based on which the review was conducted and the outcome thereof; if they have not, whether they will conduct a review as soon as possible?
Reply:
President,
Over the years, the Government has been seeking to raise public awareness of the protection of animal rights through multi-pronged measures, including education, publicity and law enforcement. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169) was specifically enacted to combat cruelty to animals. Under the Ordinance, cruelty to animals mainly includes the act of cruelly beating, kicking, ill-treating, torturing, infuriating or terrifying animals, or causing unnecessary suffering to them. Other forms of cruelty to animals include carrying animals or holding them in captivity in an improper way. Officers from various Government departments, including senior veterinary officers, health officers, health inspectors, police officers and authorised officers from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), may enforce the Ordinance as appropriate.
In 2006, with the support of the Legislative Council, the Government has substantially increased the maximum penalty under the Ordinance from a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment for six months to a fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for three years. For more effective law enforcement, the AFCD, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the Police, in conjunction with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Hong Kong) (SPCA(HK)) and other organisations concerned, reviewed the procedures for initial handling of reports of alleged cruelty to animals at the scene of incidents, subsequent investigation and follow-up actions in 2007.
In addition to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance, local wild animals, such as wild monkeys, Chinese porcupines, bats and birds are all protected under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170). Any person wilfully disturbing or unlawfully capturing protected wild animals is liable upon conviction to a maximum fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for one year. Given the distinctive nature of animal cruelty cases and that the animals involved in such reports are mostly stray cats and dogs, law enforcement officers unavoidably encounter relatively great difficulty in collecting and adducing evidence. However, this is not unique to Hong Kong. Notwithstanding this, law enforcement officers have been handling animal cruelty cases in strict accordance with the law. Our reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) The numbers of complaints and reports of suspected cruelty to animals received by the Government in 2007, 2008 and 2009 were 190, 187 and 157 respectively, showing a slight downward trend. The numbers of persons prosecuted were 18 in both 2007 and 2008 and nine in 2009 respectively. In the vast majority of these cases, the persons concerned were successfully convicted and penalties were imposed. Details are at Annex.
(b) & (c) As stated in the reply above, the Police is also an enforcement department of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance. In January 2008, with the professional advice of the AFCD, the FEHD and the SPCA(HK), the Police issued new internal guidelines on the initial handling procedures on receiving a report of alleged cruelty to an animal. The new guidelines, which stipulate that such cases will be referred to crime officers for investigation, apply to all police regions. If an upward trend of such cases is observed in a particular police district, the Police will flexibly deploy resources to handle the cases, and where necessary, consider assigning designated teams to investigate similar cases.
The existing mechanism for handling cases involving cruelty to animals is working well. The departments concerned will exchange information and review the effectiveness of the enforcement measures from time to time. In addition, special teams tasked with animal management and welfare matters are set up in the AFCD. The public are also encouraged to report suspected cases of cruelty to animals. If any act of cruelty to animals is found, members of the public may call the Police or report the case to the AFCD through the 1823 Call Centre. Upon receipt of such reports, the enforcement departments will follow up the cases as soon as possible. Prosecution will be taken out when there is sufficient evidence demonstrating that the person concerned has breached the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance.
Enforcement aside, promotion and education are also important in enhancing public awareness of care for animals. As such, the AFCD seeks to educate the public on responsible pet ownership and compliance with vaccination and licensing requirements through regular village and community campaigns. Apart from publicity efforts to promote care for animals through Announcements in the Public Interest on television and radio and posters on public transport carriers, the AFCD also produces promotional leaflets, posters and souvenirs for distribution to the public and organises other promotional activities to enhance publicity. The AFCD will continue to deploy its staff flexibly to take forward its work in this regard to remind people of the importance of treating pets well, responsible pet ownership and respect for the life of animals.
Thank you, President.
Ends/Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Issued at HKT 13:26
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