New study on animal cruelty in Hong Kong by HKU.
The research project was funded by the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme from the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office of the HKSAR Government and was conducted by Associate Professor Amanda Whitfort, Dr. Fiona Woodhouse, Deputy Director (Welfare) of the SPCA HK, Shuiping Ho, Welfare, Research and Development Officer, SPCA HK and Marsha Chun, Investigator Inspectorate, SPCA HK.
The study looked into animal cruelty cases between 2013 and 2019 recorded in the SPCA HK database. Most of the cases involved physical injury and or neglect by the animal’s owner or family members. The study found that the majority of neglect cases involved dogs abandoned within private premises without sufficient food or water. In nearly all of the cases examined by the team, the animals were found abandoned inside village houses that their owners had rented, but who were not living there themselves.
Research also identified a significant issue with the summary nature of cruelty to animals under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance, Cap 169 - with 20% of cases involving the abandonment of animals, the owners avoided prosecution because they could not be located within the 6 month time limit imposed by law.
In some of the cases identified in the study, dogs had been collected by persons who did not actually have sufficient financial resources and/or time to give them the proper care they deserve. In two significant, yet highly disturbing cases, where dogs had started to eat each other in order to survive, more than 100 animals had been hoarded by the offenders and placed in so called “rescue shelters”.
As the number of these unregulated “rescue shelters” continues to grow, the authors opined that there is urgent need for Hong Kong to introduce shelter licensing legislation. A further reason to regulate the shelters is to do with the donations that they receive from members of the public, and the complete lack of transparency as to the use of the funds. There is also the issue of Government policies in Hong Kong which continue to prohibit the keeping of dogs in public housing, which further aggravates the abandonment of these animals.
Average sentences for serious cruelty have increased only marginally since the publication of Review of Animal Welfare Legislation in Hong Kong in 2010. The average sentence of cases of serious animal cruelty in Hong Kong from 2013 - 2019 remained very close to the same level reported in 2007 - 2008: 2.4 months’ imprisonment. Fine levels have increased since the last review, with the average fine in 2007 - 2008 being $1,200 whereas the the average between 2013 - 2019 being $2,900.
In view of the findings, the authors made recommendations supporting significant reforms to current animal protection legislation including: -
the introduction fo a legislative duty of care for animals which would require owners to provide them with positive welfare;
new legislation to regulate animal shelters;
new legislation to regulate grooming parlours and animal trainers and increased regulation of animal boarding facilities;
new powers to release animals early and allow for costs for their care;
new offences to deter animal poisoning;
improved regulations to control the use of traps and cruel devices;
a new offence of allowing animals to fall from height;
new prohibition on unnecessary mutilation of animals;
new prohibition on mercy release of animals without a permit; and
new powers to authorise experienced persons to assist AFCD and the police in the enforcement of Cap 169.
The full report can be accessed and downloaded HERE.
Courtesy of HKALPO
Photos Courtesy of HKU
