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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (June 17)
Question:
Some members of the public have relayed to me that the Legislative Assembly of the Macao Special Administrative Region generally approved the animal protection bill last year and the relevant committee is discussing the bill. The Taipei City Government has recently announced that it would implement various animal-friendly policies, including imposing heavy penalties on persons who maliciously abandon animals and encouraging the establishment of animal care homes in the community by providing rent subsidies. In Hong Kong, on the contrary, the Government has neither put in place explicit animal-friendly policies nor reviewed the effectiveness of the existing measures for the protection of animals' rights, resulting in incessant occurrence of cases of cruelty to animals by increasingly brutal means. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department set up a working group in 2011 jointly with the Police, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Hong Kong) to explore ways of handling animal cruelty cases, of the work progress of the working group, including whether it has proposed measures to combat cruelty to animals; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; given that the Police also launched the "Animal Watch Scheme" in 2011, of the details and the effectiveness of the work concerned;
(2) whether it will consider following the practices of the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, etc., to establish an animal police team dedicated to handling animal cruelty cases, as well as authorising, through enacting legislation, animal welfare organisations in the community to perform frontline patrol, handle complaints and conduct investigations, and refer cases to the Police for law enforcement actions after they have gathered sufficient evidence; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it will consider amending the existing legislation to create offences concerning animal abandonment; whether it will enhance the support for animal welfare organisations in the community, so as to help them operate animal care homes to provide proper shelters for stray cats and dogs; 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. At present, activities and conduct involving animals are regulated by the Government under several pieces of legislation, including the Public Health (Animals and Birds) Ordinance (Cap. 139) and its subsidiary legislation, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169), the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170) as well as the Rabies Ordinance (Cap. 421) and its subsidiary legislation. At the same time, the Government adopts a multi-pronged approach to safeguard and promote animal welfare by means of administrative measures as well as public education and publicity activities.
For cases involving acts of cruelty to animals, enforcement action will be taken by relevant government departments as appropriate in accordance with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap 169). Any person who commits an offence under the Ordinance is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $200,000 and to imprisonment for up to three years. The heaviest penalty that has thus far been handed down by the court, namely imprisonment for 16 months (in a case in January 2014), bears significant deterrence. Under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169), the Government has, in the past three years, taken out the following number of prosecutions: 19 in 2012, 20 in 2013 and 29 in 2014. There were 18, 15 and 24 cases of successful convictions respectively.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has established a dedicated team to devise, implement and fortify public education and publicity programmes for promoting care for animals and a responsible attitude for keeping pets. AFCD has also been encouraging members of the public to adopt stray animals. It cooperates with animal welfare organisations in the provision of animal adoption services and provides these organisations with technical and financial support.
In the 2015-16 financial year, we have earmarked $39.6 million for animal management and the promotion of animal welfare. The estimated provision for work relating to the enforcement of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169) is $2.2 million.
My reply to various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) In 2011, AFCD, in conjunction with the Hong Kong Police Force (Police), the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Hong Kong) (SPCA), set up a working group for forging closer cooperation and mutual support in handling animal cruelty cases. The working group meets regularly to discuss the handling of individual cases, and devise and review guidelines for improving efficiency in the detection and prevention of animal cruelty cases. Meanwhile, the working group has been organising training courses for building up better understanding of animal welfare issues and skills for handling animal cruelty cases. It keeps in view the level of penalty handed down by the court, including the need to make recommendations to the Department of Justice for review as and when necessary.
The Police, in collaboration with AFCD, SPCA, veterinary associations and animal welfare groups, introduced the Animal Watch Scheme in 2011 to strengthen the capacity of the Police in the investigation of animal cruelty cases. The scheme aims at consolidating cooperation among various stakeholders and enhancing the efficacy of Police efforts in the investigation of such cases. This scheme has the support of two professional veterinary bodies, namely the Hong Kong Veterinary Association and China (Hong Kong) Veterinary Association. AFCD and SPCA also provide professional advice to assist the Police in this respect. Under the scheme, training programmes and forums are organised for police officers to further enhance their professional knowledge and investigation skills in handling related offences.
In the event, most of the cases that have been acted upon by the Police came about by virtue of reports and information furnished by members of the public other than owners of the battered animals. This bears testimony to the effectiveness of the scheme in raising public awareness of the need to combat animal cruelty cases.
(2) In law enforcement, both the Police and AFCD will investigate into cases of cruelty to animals and institute prosecution. Where necessary, AFCD will provide professional veterinary advice, while FEHD will assist in handling environmental hygiene issues and dead animals. SPCA has set up a 24-hour enquiry hotline for such cases, and will also provide animals with medical services and facilitate law enforcement officers in their work.
Reports of animal cruelty cases received by the Police will be taken up by crime investigation teams which have the professional investigation skills and experience required to follow up any criminal cases, including those involving cruelty to animals. Depending on the geographical distribution and prevailing trend of cases, the Police may consider assigning cases to dedicated teams in the interest of ensuring comprehensive and focused investigation and early detection. This arrangement allows the Police to flexibly deploy its limited resources in tandem with the Animal Watch Scheme, thereby enhancing the overall effectiveness of its efforts in combating acts of cruelty to animals.
The Government considers that the existing mechanism has proved to be effective and therefore has no plan to establish an animal police team.
(3) At present, pursuant to the Rabies Ordinance (Cap. 421), a keeper of any animal who, without reasonable excuse, abandons that animal commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $10,000 and imprisonment for up to six months. The Government has no plan to increase the penalty level for the time being.
We consider that public education is very 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 a responsible attitude of keeping pets.
In addition, AFCD has been working in close collaboration with a number of animal welfare organisations in promoting animal welfare and better animal management. The Government will provide funding for animal welfare organisations to carry out relevant projects, including the establishment and improvement of animal re-homing centres that provide temporary shelters for stray animals awaiting re-homing. Where individual animal welfare organisations seek to use government land for the purpose of promoting animal welfare, we will consider giving policy support on the merits of each case.
We also actively encourage members of the public to adopt stray animals. AFCD cooperates with animal welfare organisations in arranging animal adoption services. The department provides free neutering service for animals adopted through these organisations.
The Government will review the existing policies and measures from time to time, and study overseas experience in the interest of ensuring that our policies and measures remain appropriate and relevant in meeting changing needs.
Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:56
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