SPCA Welcomes Government's Commitment to Make Legislative Amendments and Calls for Full Reform of Hong Kong's Animal Cruelty Legislation
Introduce a Duty of Care and Improvement Mechanism to Enable Early Intervention and Prevent Animal Suffering
(Hong Kong, 8 October 2026) The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Hong Kong) (“SPCA”) welcomes the Government’s commitment in the latest Policy Address to strengthen efforts to combat animal cruelty and work towards completing the legislative amendments in 2027. However, the SPCA believes that piecemeal changes will not address the fundamental problems with the current legislation, which focuses on punishment after harm has occurred, and therefore cannot provide animals with comprehensive protection. The SPCA is calling for urgent and comprehensive reform of Hong Kong’s animal cruelty legislation, establishing a mechanism that prioritises prevention and improvement, with early intervention to prevent neglect and animal abuse before they occur.
Animals need protection before serious harm occurs
Introduced in 1935, Hong Kong’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169) operates under a largely reactive legal framework and does not provide sufficient protection for animals before they suffer. It focuses primarily on whether an animal has already experienced “unnecessary suffering”, meaning that even where an animal is clearly at risk, enforcement authorities may find it difficult to intervene early, missing the opportunity to protect the animal before harm occurs.
The SPCA says full legislative reform is needed to better protect animals before suffering escalates. This should include introducing a “Duty of Care” principle, closing existing legal loopholes, strengthening enforcement powers, and increasing penalties for animal cruelty offences.
Fiona Cumming, Executive Director of the SPCA, said: “Whilst we welcome the Government’s announcement, we hope it will lead to comprehensive and meaningful reform that brings Hong Kong’s animal welfare legislation up to modern standards. Hong Kong’s current legislation focuses primarily on punishing offenders after cruelty has occurred, and enforcement authorities often cannot take action until an animal has already suffered serious harm. By then, the suffering and damage caused may be irreversible. We believe the law should place greater emphasis on prevention, so that neglect and other situations that may compromise animal welfare can be addressed earlier, helping to prevent harm wherever possible. Animals deserve protection before they suffer.”
Cases handled by the SPCA show the gap in the law
Over the past five years from April 2021 to March 2026, the SPCA supported 378 animal cruelty cases involving 1,353 animals. Its works included rescue, treatment, rehabilitation and rehoming, as well as assisting enforcement departments with prosecutions and providing professional insight and expert testimony in court during animal cruelty trials.
During the same period, the SPCA received more than 550 reports involving animals kept in harsh conditions. It also handled more than 1,200 “flying cat” incidents involving cats falling from height, including fatal cases, often associated with inadequate safety precautions in their living environment. Yet under the current law, enforcement authorities often cannot intervene because such situations fall outside the scope of animal cruelty offence, even where the risks to animal welfare are clear.
These cases highlight a fundamental limitation of the current legal framework: in many situations, there is insufficient legal basis for action until an animal has already suffered serious harm, making it difficult to prevent problems before they escalate. The SPCA warns that without full reform of Hong Kong’s animal cruelty legislation, cases of abandonment, serious hoarding, and prolonged neglect are likely to continue, leaving more animals to suffer in situations where earlier intervention could have prevented harm. By introducing a legal framework that prioritises prevention and improvement, relevant authorities would be better able to intervene before risks worsen, helping to prevent harm before it occurs.
Four priorities for meaningful reform
The Society is calling for full reform of Hong Kong’s animal cruelty legislation on four key priorities:
- Enable earlier intervention through a “Duty of Care”: Introduce a clear legal responsibility for owners and keepers to ensure the basic needs of animals they care for are met, such as providing a suitable diet, shelter and protection from pain and suffering.
- Close legal loopholes: Remove legal loopholes and address legislative gaps by introducing measures including disqualification orders to prevent repeat offending, and prohibiting unnecessary mutilations and the use of cruel devices, to provide stronger protection for animal welfare.
- Strengthen enforcement powers: Ensure investigators and enforcement agencies have the powers they need to protect animals, conduct proper investigations and intervene at an earlier stage.
- Increase penalties: Make sure cruelty carries consequences that reflect the harm caused, deter future offending, and reinforce that abuse will not be tolerated.
The SPCA acknowledges public concerns about the potential legal responsibilities arising from the introduction of a “Duty of Care”. It therefore recommends introducing an Improvement Notice mechanism alongside it. Where an animal owner or keeper may be failing to meet their duty of care, an Improvement Notice would identify the welfare concerns and specify what needs to be corrected, while giving the person a reasonable period of time to improve the situation rather than imposing an immediate penalty. This mechanism is intended to give owners and keepers an opportunity to correct problems before animals suffer, placing greater emphasis on prevention and improvement.
Public support is clear
In the Government’s 2019 public consultation on proposals to enhance animal welfare legislation, 88% of respondents supported introducing a duty of care, while more than 86% supported stronger enforcement measures. Respondents also expressed support for additional proposals such as Improvement Notices to ensure animals’ basic needs are met and disqualification orders for offenders.
The amendment proposal has been discussed in the community and the Legislative Council for years. The SPCA believes the Government’s current move to amend the legislation and strengthen efforts to combat animal cruelty presents an important opportunity to deliver full reform. Reform should no longer be limited to piecemeal amendments but should establish a more preventive legal framework that enables earlier protection for animals.
SPCA’s educational campaign to build awareness and support
Under the campaign tagline, “It is our Duty to Care, It is the Law’s Duty to Protect,” the SPCA is launching its Animal Cruelty Legislation Reform Campaign to educate the public, raise public awareness, and build support for urgent legislative reform.
As part of the campaign, the SPCA will roll out educational content to help the public better understand:
- Responsible pet ownership;
- The importance of full reform of animal cruelty legislation and what such reform would mean in practice;
- What animal welfare means in practice; and
- That a legal duty of care, providing for an animal’s basic needs, is essential and should be included in the Cap. 169 legislation.
The SPCA will also partner with local and regional animal welfare organisations, universities, corporates, veterinary clinics and other associations on events and educational content, while continuing close communications with government authorities to support meaningful legal reform.
A full reform must be backed by Government commitment
The SPCA also urges the Government to give animal cruelty legislation reform greater policy priority and allocate more resources to animal-related work in Hong Kong. More comprehensive legislation must be backed by education, effective enforcement, and sustained investment to improve protection for animals.
The SPCA reiterates that message is simple: animals deserve protection before they suffer, and that Hong Kong needs modern animal cruelty legislation that reflects that principles of prevention, improvement and early intervention.
To support the SPCA's campaign for the full reform of Cap.169 in Hong Kong, visit: bit.ly/4jxFTsh