The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (June 9) that a ballot will be conducted this Friday (June 12) to allocate quotas for applications for allowing dogs to enter permitted food premises.

     A spokesman for the FEHD said, "The FEHD accepted applications from restaurants for allowing dogs to enter their premises between May 18 and June 8, receiving a total of 2 205 applications. To implement the new measure in a prudent and orderly manner, a quota of not more than 1 000 restaurants is set for the first phase of application. After striking out duplicated, self-withdrawn, and known-to-be ineligible applications (including those without valid restaurant licence and those operating mainly as hotpot/barbecue restaurants),  the department will conduct a ballot to allocate the quotas among the remaining 1 615 valid applications."

     The ballot will be conducted at 10am on June 12 at the Assembly Hall, 2/F, Lai Chi Kok Government Offices, 19 Lai Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon. The Chairman of Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene of the Legislative Council, Ms Chan Hoi-yan, will officiate the ballot as the guest of honour. The balloting process will be live-streamed via the FEHD's Facebook page, and both the process and results will be uploaded to the FEHD's dedicated webpage (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/licensing/dog_restaurants/index.html) on the same day. The FEHD will reserve 100 seats for members of the public. Those interested in attending must register in advance by calling 2867 5912 or 2867 2836 on or before June 12 from 9am to 5pm. Seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

     ​Applicants will be notified of the ballot results via SMS. Furthermore, the FEHD will deploy dedicated officers to visit successful food premises on June 16 and 17 to deliver Approval Letters and brief their operators on the statutory requirements, licence conditions and other compliance arrangements. Successful applicants must bring along the Approval Letter and existing original copy of the restaurant licence to any Licence Issuing Offices (Hong Kong and Islands, Kowloon and the New Territories) as listed in the Approval Letter, and pay a fee of $140, on or before June 24, to amend their licences to include the permission. If applicants fail to complete the procedures within the specific period, or withdraw the qualifications for other reasons, the FEHD will arrange other applicants to fill the vacancies according to the sequential order from the ballot result. The FEHD will specify a date in July from which dogs will be allowed to enter permitted food premises. The exact date will be announced in due course.

Ends/Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Issued at HKT 20:37

NNNN