Emergency Hotline

For general information or veterinary appointments please call our centres directly. The hotline is for emergencies only.

Knowing who to contact in an emergency can save an animal's life. For 24-hour inspectorate or Out of Hours Veterinary Emergency Services please call our hotline.

Emergency Hotline  2711 1000

For non-emergencies please see our general phone list

My pet is sick but is it an emergency?

  • All out of hours calls are answered first by our hotline operator who passes the details to the appropriate department (either a veterinary nurse or an inspector).
  • The veterinary nurse will call the client to get detailed medical information to relay to the on duty veterinary surgeon. Sometimes professional advice is all that is needed, but if not the nurse will arrange an emergency appointment normally at our Hong Kong Centre.
  • It is important to realise this is purely an emergency service, and although we endeavor to see all emergency cases immediately, as there is only one veterinary surgeon and one nurse working overnight you may need to wait to be attended to if the duty staff are already dealing with an emergency. Realistically we do not have the resources to operate on the same basis as an accident and emergency unit at a human hospital.

It is difficult and unwise to try to list conditions that are emergencies as each situation is different, but problems such as difficulty giving birth, not passing urine, prolapsed eye, breathing difficulty, open wounds, poisoning or traffic accidents generally require immediate treatment.


We do not want to deter members from using our out of hours veterinary service when their pet is genuinely in need of emergency treatment. We do ask, however, that you keep certain points in mind:

  • Always call the hotline first on 2711 1000. Do not rush your pet to one of our centres expecting to find a vet on duty.
  • Out of hours services are for true emergencies only. Please do not exaggerate your pet's condition; our vets will not give routine treatment or vaccinations if they see your animal for an "emergency" out of clinic hours.
  • If your dog is normally treated by a private veterinary surgeon, they will have your medical records and as such should be called first in an emergency situation (all private vets provide a 24-hour emergency service). Your animal's medical records may be vital in treating an emergency condition and it is unethical for a vet to see another vet's clients without good reason.

Need the Inspectorate?

The SPCA hotline is on standby 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Our operators will field the calls coming into the hotline – on average we receive 38,000 calls a year, from which over 5,000 animals are handled by the Inspectors.

Our frontline team handles a variety of calls and will quickly determine the best course of action once a call comes in.

Calls mainly fall into one of these three categories:

1. ENQUIRIES 
Enquiry and advice calls generally seek assistance that our hotline operators are trained to address. You may need help in arranging emergency veterinary services outside normal hours or need advice about a barking dog. Our operators have the relevant experience and will deal with the many different types of urgent requests with patience. 

2. RESCUES
Animals in our city find themselves in sticky, sometimes even dangerous, situations every now and then, and many concerned citizens call our hotline to report these cases. It could have been a hit-and-run incident, or a dog might have been seen trapped on a ledge. Whatever the situation, our operators are ready to engage the team to help.

3. SUSPECTED CRUELTY
Over the years, we have seen a growing awareness of animal welfare among the public, and more people have been calling to report suspected cases of abuse. Our operators will make sure that our Inspectors are armed with detailed information about the situation and are dispatched promptly to the scene.


If you suspect an animal is in distress and might need assistance, please don't hesitate to call our hotline on 2711 1000.

 

Depending on the situation, our experienced operators will be able to give you instructions on how best to help the animal (if anything can be done at all) while the Inspectors are on their way. It can make a world of difference to the animal you're trying to help.