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Preamble
SPCA welcomes Hon Chan Hak-kan's motion to improve animal welfare in Hong Kong and thanks him for his work in this area. We have studied the motions and in general are gratified that animal welfare issues are brought to the attention of the Legislative Council.
We are fully supportive of a call for reform of animal welfare laws, and recommend that the Government make use of Government-funded law reform proposal by HKU/SPCA as basis. We agree wholeheartedly with the motion for the Department of Justice to monitor sentencing of animal cruelty cases, tightening the law on sales and breeding of animals, increasing pet access in public and recreational places, in improving hygiene through provision of dog litter boxes and more frequent washing, on improving publicity and education of animal welfare and responsible pet ownership through setting up of a fund, and providing care instructions for animal buyers. We agree that training more veterinary support personnel will be beneficial to animal welfare.
We recommend that AFCD pursue an Open Adoption policy for all members of the public. We propose that a scientific, controlled "Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return" trial be conducted in conjunction with AFCD. We propose that in the interests of animal welfare, any hospice care be regulated by Veterinary Surgeons' Board or similar authority.
We are strongly against the establishment of an animal police which will lack the experience and the veterinary, welfare resources available to the SPCA Inspectorate. The SPCA Inspectorate has been successfully carrying out the role of "animal police" for 90 years. This system is working well and Hong Kong has one of the most effective animal cruelty investigative capabilities in the world. The source of the problem is not in enforcement. Rather it is the outdated "Prevention of Cruelty" laws that do not allow the police or SPCA to prevent, but only to prosecute, cruelty.
We are also strongly against open inspections of animal welfare centres by animal rights organizations, as operation of these facilities are technical in nature and entry should be afforded to agreed visitors andrecognized animal welfare professionals.
Please see our detailed comments in the following pages.
Wording of the Motion
That the keeping of pets among Hong Kong people has become increasingly common, and there is also a growing concern about the rights of animals; however, the animal welfare policy in Hong Kong lags far behind the standards of other developed places in the world, and cases of animal cruelty keep occurring; tens of thousands of animals are euthanized every year, and there is still insufficient activity space for the integration of human beings and animals within the communities; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to formulate an 'animal-friendly policy' to ensure that the rights of animals can be safeguarded; the relevant policy measures should include:
| (a) |
by making reference to the present animal protection legislation in developed places, to review and amend the existing Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance for the purpose of catching up with international standards, and to classify the intentional abandonment of animals as animal cruelty, as well as to explore the provision of compulsory psychological counselling and courses on animal protection to convicted persons;
SPCA's Opinion
SPCA supports this motion in principle. In July 2010, Professor Amanda Whitford of HKU in conjunction with SPCA, published a proposal to reform Hong Kong's current animal welfare laws to bring them up to international standards and social norms. We advise that the Government make use of this proposal in their review of the current laws and that such a review to be thorough and not be limited to only CAP 169.
SPCA in general agrees that intentional abandonment is cruelty. The definition of "abandonment" is wide ranging and must first be clearly defined to account for mitigating circumstances.
SPCA is not in a position to comment on the feasibility of providing compulsory psychological counseling and courses on animal protection to convicted persons. This falls into the remit of the Department of Justice but in principle we support any measure that would enhance the rehabilitation of offenders and better protect animals |
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| (b) |
to establish 'animal police' teams specially tasked to investigate cases of animal cruelty and abandonment, enhance the training of frontline enforcement officers on handling cases of animal cruelty and their awareness of such cases, and set up a 'dedicated hotline for reporting animal cruelty', with a view to curbing the situation of animal cruelty and abandonment from becoming prevalent;
SPCA's Opinion
The SPCA is opposed to this motion. Our Inspectorate has been carrying out the role of "Animal Police" for the past 90 years. Hong Kong's present system where a SPCA equivalent carries out initial animal cruelty investigations, is in place in many countries, including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.SPCA's mission is to rescue and help animals in distress. We currently operate a 24 hour animal rescue hotline that receives about 40,000 calls each year. Our team of over 22 Inspectors investigates 800 complaints of animal cruelty, conducts 1,500 inspections of wet markets, pet shops and shelters, and patrols animal poisoning hotspots daily. Our Inspectorate is supported by qualified Veterinary Surgeons, Vet Nurses and Welfare officers and experts. Regular exchanges, attachments and training with Animal Inspectorates of other countries, enable our team to be equipped with the latest knowledge and able to adapt it locally. The SPCA inspectorate works closely with Hong Kong Police who are able to utilise their territory wide investigative capabilities and resources and, together with SPCA are able to prepare the cases for prosecution.
SPCA feels that establishment of a separate "Animal Police" will not be as effective as Hong Kong's current response, where the SPCA's depth of 'animal' knowledge and expertise is combined with the Police's vast resources and investigative expertise. Hong Kong already possesses one of the most effective capabilities in the world.
A more fundamental issue lies with antiquated animal welfare laws. The current legal framework restricts what the SPCA can do in preventing cruelty; prosecution can only take place after an overt act of abuse is committed. SPCA believes that our role will be greatly enhanced if there is a general review of current animal welfare laws and the requirement of Duty of Care is introduced.We ask that SPCA and certain government bodies such as AFCD be empowered to prevent cruelty by the removing of an animal from a situation that will lead to an act of cruelty or unnecessary suffering. The power to enter a private premise to prevent cruelty would have a very positive impact in alleviating animals suffering. |
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| (c) |
to request the Department of Justice to pay close attention to the sentencing for cases of animal cruelty, and where sentencing for the cases concerned cannot fully reflect their seriousness, to seek sentencing guidelines by applying for reviews of sentences to the relevant courts, so as to truly reflect the social concern about offences of animal cruelty;
SPCA's Opinion
SPCA agrees with this motion for the Department of Justice to monitor sentencing and where necessary, raise an appeal.
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| (d) |
to improve the existing management mechanism for the sale and registration of animals, including reviewing the licensing and regulatory mechanism for the sale and breeding of pets and stepping up the monitoring of the sources of animals, so as to combat problems such as unlicensed animal breeding and illicit animal import;
SPCA's Opinion
SPCA fully agrees with and supports this motion |
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| (e) |
to improve the hygiene conditions in the animal management centres under the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and enhance the transparency of stray animal management by allowing Members and animal rights organisations to conduct regular inspections, increase the number of qualified animal adoption organizations and expand the scope of animals for adoption to reptiles and amphibians, so as to facilitate the adoption of animals by a greater number of people and organizations;
SPCA's Opinion
SPCA is opposed to this motion for animal rights organization to inspect animal management centres. The AFCD is staffed with qualified veterinary surgeons and professionals. They are in regular contact with international and local animal welfare experts. SPCA believes that they can manage the animal welfare centres in the best possible way.
SPCA believes that management of an animal welfare facility is a highly specialized skill, and periodic inspection and input should be sought by recognized, animal welfare professionals at the invitation of AFCD.
For operational purposes and efficiency, every organization should be privy to a certain degree of confidentiality. We welcome the notion for Legislative Council Members and animal welfare organisations or other appropriate parties to visit the animal management centres periodically to increase mutual understanding and communication, for the sake of improving animal welfare in Hong Kong.
With reference to animal adoption, SPCA proposes that the AFCD explore allowing some direct adoption from the animal management centres, whereby parties can visit a designated adoption area and might be able to adopt animals deemed suitable directly from the centres.
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| (f) |
to co-operate with District Councils and animal rights organizations to fully implement the 'Trap-Neuter-Return' programme, and use humane means to deal with the problem of stray cats and dogs;
SPCA's Opinion
SPCA is in favor of conducting a scientific, properly assessed "Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return" trial in conjunction with AFCD, with the aim of being an alternative to the current "catch and kill" policy where suitable. The vaccination component increases protection against rabies. |
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| (g) |
to provide subsidy to the public for neutering their pets, and train more veterinary health care personnel to meet the social demand for the services concerned;
SPCA's Opinion
SPCA is currently providing subsidies to members of the public through our SNAP voucher program and various other programs including the mobile surgical unit that provides low cost neutering in low income or rural areas.
We support training of more veterinary support staff such as veterinary nurses. In addition, legislation should be amended to allow the veterinary nurse to perform the duties that are expected of them in line with their training, qualification, capabilities and responsibility to their patients. |
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| (h) |
to introduce appropriate measures, including identifying sites for constructing more parks for pets, and exploring the opening of various recreational venues such as parks and beaches partially or at specific time slots, so that members of the public can bring in their pets;
SPCA's Opinion
SPCA fully supports increasing accessibility of pets in public areas. We strongly feel that this must be in conjunction with a strong educational effort on Responsible Pet Ownership, in particular not allowing pets to be a disturbance to other people.
SPCA wishes to highlight that we are in favor of "Pet Accessibility in Parks and Public Areas" which allow integration of pets into these areas, as opposed to "Pet Parks/Facilities" which are primarily for pets' usage. Our research, and international experience, indicates that integration of properly controlled and behaved pets into the community (such as parks) increases socialization, harmony and enforces the pet owner's sense of responsibility to take care of the facilities and users. |
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| (i) |
to actively identify suitable locations for the provision of public toilets for dogs, increase the number of dog excreta collection bins on street side and step up the frequency of cleaning and washing, with a view to improving environmental hygiene;
SPCA's Opinion
SPCA has observed that dog toilets do not work as these are seldom used. We support the motion to increase the number of dog excreta bins, pick up bag dispensers, and increasing the frequency of cleaning and washing. |
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| (j) |
to explore the regulation of hospice service for animals through licensing;
SPCA's Opinion
We believe that terminally ill animals should be cared for by veterinary surgeons and professionals. To ensure that good animal welfare is the primary factor, hospice services involving animals should be regulated by the Veterinary Surgeons Board or similar authoritative body.
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| (k) |
to step up publicity and education for the public on animal care and responsible pet ownership, and set up an 'animal protection fund', so that organizations can make applications for organizing more animal welfare activities; and
SPCA's Opinion
SPCA fully supports publicity and education for the public on animal care and Responsible Pet Ownership. We are also supportive of setting up an "Animal Care Fund" for promoting animal welfare which may also accept applications from animal welfare charities. This fund should be controlled and managed by AFCD.
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| (l) |
to enhance people's understanding of endangered animals and relevant regulatory systems, and require that animal traders must provide appropriate labels for identifying endangered species, as well as to provide buyers with points to note on keeping endangered species, with a view to strengthening the management of endangered animals.
SPCA's Opinion
SPCA fully supports this motion, and proposes that it be extended to non-endangered animals, as many pet buyers lack basic knowledge of pet care. |
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