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LCQ8: Safeguarding and promoting animal welfare
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     Following is a question by the Hon Steven Ho and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (January 7):

Question:

     It has been reported that recently a shop sold fur coming from cats and dogs suspected to have been flayed alive on the Mainland, arousing wide concern among concern groups on animal interests. However, such sales activities are not regulated under existing legislation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of reports on illegal import of animal products (including cat and dog fur) received by the authorities, the number of inspections conducted by the authorities for the purpose of enforcing the relevant legislation, as well as the respective numbers of cases in which the persons concerned were prosecuted and convicted, in each of the past five years;

(2) whether it knows which countries and regions have enacted legislation to ban the sale of cat and dog fur and related products; if it knows, of the details; and

(3) whether it will consider enacting legislation to ban the sale of cat and dog fur and related products to strengthen the protection of animal interests; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:

President,

     Over the years, the Government has been striving to promote in the community a culture of care for animals with a view to protecting animal welfare.  Under the Dogs and Cats Regulations (Cap. 167A), no person shall slaughter any dogs and cats or sell the flesh of dogs and cats for food. Any person who contravenes the regulation shall be liable on conviction to a fine of $5,000 and to imprisonment for six months. In addition, according to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169), any person who cruelly treats an animal or causes it unnecessary suffering shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of $200,000 and to imprisonment for three years.

     The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) is not aware of any act of slaughtering dogs or cats for fur production in Hong Kong hitherto. If there is any suspected case of cruelty to animals, AFCD will follow up and investigate accordingly. Prosecution action will be instigated where appropriate.

     In the light of a media report on November 23, 2014 about the sale of the skin of dogs and cats alleged to have been obtained through illegal import, AFCD has conducted investigations immediately and inspected the shop concerned in Tai Po on the same day. However, no such products were found at the shop during the inspection. According to the responsible person of the shop, he had surrendered those products to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). In reply to AFCD's enquiry, SPCA confirmed that nine pieces of suspected dog skins were surrendered by the shop and kept under their custody. AFCD has warned the responsible person of the shop that it is an offence to import such products into Hong Kong without appropriate permit(s), and the Department would consider taking legal actions where appropriate. In collaboration with the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), the AFCD will step up surveillance and enforcement actions against illegal import of such products and enhance publicity on the subject.

     My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:

(1) Under section 11(1) of the Rabies Regulations (Cap. 421A), no person shall import any animal product (including the skin of dogs and cats) into Hong Kong except under and in accordance with a permit to do so issued by an authorised officer. Any person who contravenes the above provision commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $50,000 and to imprisonment for one year.

     AFCD has put in place a surveillance programme to deal with the illegal import of animals, carcasses or animal products in accordance with the Rabies Regulations, and has all along been working closely with C&ED in combating illegal import of such products at all boundary control points.

     The number of reported cases of illegal import of animal products (including the skin of dogs and cats) received, the number of inspections conducted, and the respective number of cases in which the offenders were prosecuted and convicted by the AFCD under the Rabies Regulation in the period from 2010 to November 2014 are as follows:

Year              2010  2011  2012  2013  2014 (as at
                                          November 30)
Reported cases      0     0     0     0     1
Inspections        53    51    76    72    71
Prosecutions        2     1     1     0     0
Convicted cases     2     1     1     0     0

     Of the above cases, there is only one (received in 2014) in which the skin of dogs and cats is involved. In this case, two inspections were conducted in the same year and no person was prosecuted or convicted.

(2) According to our understanding, the import, export and sale of dog and cat fur or skin is prohibited in the United States (US) under the Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000. In Europe, similar regulations are put in place by the European Union (EU). In the US, offenders are liable to a maximum fine of US$10,000 while the penalties set by individual EU member states may vary from country to country.

(3) We consider that public education is most important for safeguarding and promoting animal welfare. To this end, AFCD has established a dedicated team to devise, implement and fortify public education and publicity programmes for promoting care for animals and responsible pet ownership, etc. Relevant activities include producing and broadcasting announcements in the public interest through TV and radio channels; advertising on such platforms as public transport, magazines and websites; organising promotional events in shopping arcades; regularly conducting village and community campaigns; holding talks in schools; as well as conducting annual surveys on pet care. Such efforts will continue. At the moment, the Government has no plan to prohibit through legislation the sale of dog and cat fur or skin and related products. We will keep in view the development of the relevant issues and ensure that our policy is responsive to changes in circumstances.

Ends/Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Issued at HKT 15:48

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