Following is a question by the Hon Judy Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (June 25):

Question:

     At present, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department have both drawn up guidelines for people walking dogs on cleaning up dog excreta in public places and on streets. However, there are views that the cleaning methods set out in such guidelines are inadequate. For example, people walking dogs are advised to use paper to wrap up dog faeces and deposit it in rubbish bins or dog excreta collection bins, and rinse the floor with water only, which are all ineffective in cleaning up dog excreta and removing its lingering odour, thereby affecting the cityscape. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) of the number of cases and total amount of fines imposed in each of the past three years for allowing dogs to foul (i) the streets or public places with faeces, and (ii) the common parts of buildings with excreta;
 
(2) of the number of surprise inspections conducted by the authorities in each of the past three years to address the issue of dogs excreting indiscriminately (broken down by the 18 districts across the territory);
 
(3) given that the existing legislation does not impose penalties on people walking dogs who allow their dogs to urinate and foul the streets, whether the Government has plans to amend the legislation to impose regulation; and
 
(4) whether the authorities have plans to update the guidelines on cleaning up dog excreta (e.g. instructing people walking dogs to use cleaning agents with deodorising and stain-removing properties to rinse the areas where their dogs excrete); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,

     Under the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation (Cap. 132BK), a person who allows his dog to cause fouling by depositing faeces in the common parts of a building or in any street or public place is liable on a first conviction to a maximum fine of $10,000 and on each subsequent conviction to a maximum fine of $25,000; and a person who allows his dog to cause fouling by depositing urine in the common parts of a building is liable on a first conviction to a maximum fine of $5,000 and on each subsequent conviction to a maximum fine of $10,000. Moreover, under the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness and Obstruction) Ordinance (Cap. 570), any person allowing dogs to foul the streets or public places with faeces is liable to a fixed penalty of $3,000.

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) have provided the public with guidelines on prevention of fouling of places by dog excreta, advising dog walkers to take enough paper to wrap up the faeces and place it into the dog excreta collection bin, and bring sufficient clean water to rinse the spot where the dog has urinated in order to maintain environmental hygiene.

     My reply to the question raised by the Hon Judy Chan is as follows:

(1) The number of cases in which the FEHD took enforcement actions against fouling of streets or public places by dog faeces, as well as the total amount of fines imposed between 2022 and 2024 are as follows:
 

	2022	2023	2024
Number of cases	16	19	24
Total amount of fines imposed on cases handled ($)	22,500	33,000	70,000*

*The significant increase in fines was mainly due to the increase in the amount of fixed penalty for fouling of street by dog faeces from $1,500 to $3,000 with effect from October 22, 2023.

     Having considered its enforcement priorities and resource deployment, the FEHD focuses its enforcement efforts against cleanliness offences in streets and public places, while the management and hygiene problems of the common parts of buildings are generally followed up by owners or management companies. The FEHD does not maintain records of enforcement against dogs fouling the common parts of buildings with excreta between 2022 and 2024.

(2) The numbers of blitz operations conducted by the FEHD in the 18 districts across the territory in response to dog fouling between 2022 and 2024 are as follows:
 

District	2022	2023	2024
Central and Western	10	12	14
Wan Chai	17	15	23
Eastern	12	10	17
Southern	10	11	9
Islands	4	15	8
Yau Tsim Mong	22	30	28
Sham Shui Po	11	13	18
Kowloon City	14	16	16
Wong Tai Sin	30	24	28
Kwun Tong	24	24	26
Kwai Tsing	12	10	10
Tsuen Wan	15	12	18
Tuen Mun	20	19	20
Yuen Long	15	12	16
North	8	8	10
Tai Po	12	12	12
Sha Tin	8	10	12
Sai Kung	12	12	12
Total	256	265	297

     The AFCD and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) also conduct enforcement operations at their respective sites from time to time, addressing various irregularities such as dogs fouling. The AFCD and the LCSD do not maintain specific figures on enforcement actions solely targeting dog fouling issues.

(3) In general, rinsing the spot where the dog has urinated with sufficient clean water is enough to clean the spot properly and avoid causing environmental hygiene problems. Considering the habits of dogs marking their territory with urine and urinating outdoors, as well as the fact that using sufficient clean water is enough for cleaning, the Government currently has no plans to amend the legislation to regulate dog urination in streets or public places.

     The Government will continue to promote the message of "be a responsible pet owner" to the public and educate dog walkers to properly clean up after their dogs through various channels, including posters, pamphlets, thematic websites and roving exhibitions, so as to maintain environmental hygiene.

(4) The guidelines issued by the FEHD and the AFCD have clearly required dog walkers to clean up after their dogs by properly wrapping up the faeces with sufficient paper or cleaning urine with sufficient clean water. As regards the requirement for dog walkers to use cleaning agents, we have to consider the impact on the public and the environment, such as whether the cleaning agents may cause pedestrians to slip and whether the discharge of cleaning agents into stormwater drains may cause pollution. The Government will continue its promotional and educational efforts so that dog walkers will follow the guidelines and properly dispose of the droppings of their dogs.

Ends/Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 11:20

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