Following is a question by the Hon Lillian Kwok and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (October 22):

Question:

     There are views that while the Government has introduced various pet-friendly measures in recent years, including the establishment of more Inclusive Parks for Pets and a licensing arrangement proposed in the 2025 Policy Address for allowing dogs to enter food premises, the Government can still further explore measures to safeguard the rights and interests of animals and regulate animal hospice services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of inspections conducted by the relevant Government departments to crack down on illegal animal breeding facilities, as well as the numbers of related complaints received and prosecutions instituted, in each of the past five years (set out in a table); the types and numbers of animals rescued in the aforesaid inspections;

(2) as it has been reported that there are illegal animal breeding facilities treating animals inhumanely and profiteering through the sale of animals, whether the Government will comprehensively review the legislation relating to the protection of the rights and interests of animals, so as to step up efforts in combating such illegal acts; if so, of the details;

(3) as the Rabies Ordinance (Cap. 421) provides that a keeper of any animal who, without reasonable excuse, abandons that animal commits an offence, whether the Government has instituted any prosecutions under the aforesaid relevant provision of Cap. 421 over the past five years; if so, of the number of successful prosecutions and the relevant penalties imposed in each of the years; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) as the Government indicated in its reply to my written question on November 22, 2023 that it had no plan to introduce a licensing regime for animal hospice service operators back then, but it is learnt that currently the provision of animal cremation services in industrial buildings still involves issues such as breaches of land leases and public health concerns, whether the Government will study the enactment of dedicated legislation to regulate such operators, and reconsider introducing a relevant licensing mechanism; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether consideration will be given to providing animal cremation services directly by the Government or its designated contractors?

Reply:

President,

     Having consulted the Development Bureau and the relevant Government departments, the reply to the question from the Hon Lillian Kwok is as follows:
 
(1) Currently, any person who operates a dog breeding premises and sells those dogs or their offspring must possess a valid Dog Breeder Licence in accordance with the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Trading and Breeding) Regulations (Cap. 139B), and must comply with the relevant licence conditions and the code of practice. Operating the above premises without a valid licence is subject to a maximum fine of $100,000, while non-compliance with the licence conditions or permit conditions is subject to a maximum fine of $50,000.

     The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) conducts regular inspections to licensed dog breeding premises. Prosecutions will be instigated against any violation identified. The inspection figures in the past five years are set out in Annex. Furthermore, based on complaints and risk assessments, the AFCD conducts investigation on premises suspected of illegal dog breeding activities for sale purpose. In the past five years (2020 to 2024), the department respectively received 22, 11, 18, 26, and 22 complaints. After investigation, no illegal activity was detected, nor was it necessary to seize the animals from detection of animal cruelty.

(2) According to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169) (the Ordinance), anyone who does or omits to do any act and causes any unnecessary suffering to any animal may constitute an offence of animal cruelty. Upon conviction, the maximum penalty is a fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for three years. The Government will not tolerate any act of animal cruelty and takes stringent enforcement actions against illegal act to safeguard animal welfare.

     We have been studying amendments to the Ordinance. In preparing the bill to amend the Ordinance, it is necessary to consult the relevant stakeholders again on some of the proposals. There are divergent views among stakeholders on the introduction of "Duty of Care" at this stage and the penalty level for animal cruelty. We will continue to collect and consider the opinions from all parties. Once the work is completed, we will present the way forward of the relevant work to the Legislative Council.

(3) According to Section 22 of the Rabies Ordinance (Cap. 421), a keeper of any animal who, without reasonable excuse, abandons that animal, is subject to a maximum fine of $10,000 and imprisonment for six months. When there is sufficient evidence (such as eye-witness accounts or CCTV footage), the AFCD will instigate prosecution against the suspect. Otherwise, the AFCD generally, depending on the circumstances, regards the keeper as failing to keep that animal under control and causing that animal to wander into a public place, and will instigate prosecution in accordance to Section 23 of the Rabies Ordinance. In the past five years, no prosecution was instigated in accordance with Section 22, while the number of successful prosecutions under Section 23 are tabulated below:
 

Year	Number of Successful Prosecutions
2020	103
2021	130
2022	121
2023	90
2024	85

(4) Upon receipt of complaints about animal cremation operating premises causing sanitary nuisance, environmental pollution or fire hazard, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), Environmental Protection Department and Fire Services Department will respectively conduct inspection and take enforcement action as necessary in accordance with existing legislations. 

     Furthermore, animal cremation providers must ensure their operating premises comply with the terms of the land lease. In general, lots of industrial buildings (IBs) are specified for industrial and/or godown uses. Animal cremation within IBs is in breach of lease restrictions. Also, the flow of people arising from animal cremation and relevant services may pose risks to public safety. The Lands Department will conduct follow-up inspections on complaints received involving breach of lease conditions, and if verified, the department will take lease enforcement actions as appropriate. In general, if the relevant persons make an application to the Lands Department for lease modification or waiver so as to accommodate animal cremation purposes, Lands Department would consult relevant departments.

     Considering that animal cremation providers are regulated by existing legislations, and members of the public may properly wrap, label and pass the body of their deceased pets to FEHD's staff at public refuse collection points for handling, the Government has no plans to provide pet cremation services or to introduce specific legislation to regulate such services.

Ends/Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:55

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