On 14 May 2023, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise (“C&E”) Department seized 18 live turtles and 3 live lizards suspected to be endangered species worth approximately HK$160,000 at the Hong Kong International Airport.

This is the first case of live endangered species smuggling involving a passenger detected by Customs this year since the resumption of normal travel between the city and other parts of the world.

Frustratingly, AFCD had reportedly confirmed that, as of January 2022, the powers of OSCO have not yet been invoked in any enforcement cases handled by the department. It remains to be seen whether and how the OSCO amendment bill will be implemented in practice.

Courtesy of Ruby Tam

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The UK government has allowed animal testing for makeup ingredients to resume despite a 25-year ban. It changed a policy on animal testing to align with EU chemical rules, according to a High Court ruling.

The High Court said on Friday that the government was acting legally after a case was brought by animal rights activists.

More than 80 brands have said they are "dismayed" by the government's new position.

Courtesy of Kt Dallison

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The Hong Kong Government proposes to amend the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance, Cap 170, stipulating that in addition to wild animals, no one shall be permitted to feed feral pigeons.

At present, feral pigeons are classified as domestic animals, as opposed to wild animals defined under the Ordinance.

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Whales have taken as long as two hours to die during Icelandic hunts, according to a report by the Icelandic food and veterinary authority.

A number of the carcasses of the fin whales shot by explosive harpoons during hunts in Iceland last year were examined by the organisation, which found that almost 40% struggled for approximately 11 and a half minutes before they died, while two took more than an hour.

A quarter of the fin whales, the second-largest mammal on Earth after the blue whale, considered “vulnerable” globally by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, had to be harpooned a second time. Only 59% died instantly.

Courtesy of Emma Brady

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There has been a worrying trend of animal abuse cases in Hong Kong recently, with six notable incidents being reported in the past two weeks. Animal welfare organisations have been calling for stricter laws and enforcement to protect animals from such cruelty. It is time Hong Kong recognises the importance of treating all living beings with kindness and respect, and to take action to prevent such abuse from occurring.

Our article looks into the six recent cases of animal cruelty in Hong Kong and considers what can and should be done to ensure that this trend does not continue.

Courtesy of Eufrosina Liu

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Following a state-wide ban on the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits at retail pet stores in December last year, New York City has taken one step further in animal welfare by banning the sale of guinea pigs. This ban follows what was a post-pandemic boom in guinea pig surrenders.

Courtesy of Merissa Quek

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Following a decade-long campaign led by The Kennel Club the UK’s largest dog welfare and training organisation, the UK government has officially banned the use of remote controlled electronic shock collars on dogs and cats, with the new legislation due to come into effect on 1 February 2024.

Electric shock collars are controversial pet accessories often used as a training device to control or punish unwanted behaviour in dogs. Such devices can deliver painful electric shocks to dogs’ necks via a hand-held control or an automatic trigger, for up to eleven seconds at a time and from up to a distance of two miles – meaning that a dog unable to see its owner can still receive the shock.

In Hong Kong, there are currently no laws regulating or prohibiting the sale and/or use of electric shock collars, which can easily be purchased from pet shops or on the Internet.

Courtesy of Ruby Tam

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UK High Court judges this week are hearing arguments by the Humane League UK in their Judicial Review regarding the legality of “Frankenchicken” after Lord Justice Singh last year said a full hearing regarding fast growing birds was in the public interest.

“Frankenchickens” are birds bred to grow faster and larger. They constitute around 90% of the chickens slaughtered each year in the UK. They reach maturity 12 weeks quicker and can be up to twice the size of a typical farmed bird, reaching its kill weight in only 35 days.

As a result, the Humane Society UK argues that they “can suffer from a range of health and welfare issues, including heart attacks, lameness, green muscle disease, hock burns and organ failure.”

Courtesy of Claire Lai

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Hong Kong Police have recently been investigating two suspected cases of animal cruelty involving dogs.

In the first case, a nine-year-old Yorkshire terrier was found to have life threatening head injuries, with an operation to save the dog recovering 18 skull fragments.

In the second case, a husky was in metal cage with its head hanging out of an opening, before a lid was closed on the animal with someone’s hand seen pressing down on the flap in an apparent attempt to briefly strangle it.

Animal cruelty will never be tolerated. If you see or suspect any persons committing acts of cruelty towards animals, please immediately report these incidents to the Hong Kong Police. Every animal matters and every person can make a difference.

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A two-metre crocodile, captured by Hong Kong conservation officers at a village in the New Territories about four hours after it was first spotted on Sunday in the yard of a house, has been sent to Ocean Park.

Two reptile experts said they believed the female crocodile had been smuggled into the city as a pet, and urged the government to ramp up regulations on the trade in exotic animals.

Another crocodile, around 1.2 metres long and weighing about 5kg, was found abandoned in Tai Po Village in 2012, while a young 33cm crocodile was caught in Bride’s Pool in Tai Po in 2019.

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HKALPO had the fortune to attend to the "Dog Dog Shipcation" event this weekend! The event was co-hosted by SPCA and Star Ferry, and it was the iconic ferry’s FIRST-EVER dog-friendly harbour tour in Hong Kong.

One of the key objective of the event was to promote pet-friendly public transportation in Hong Kong, making the city a better place for our furry family members.

If you’re an animal lover, you and your furry friend must support the next Dog Dog Shipcation event. Thank you to SPCA for inviting us to attend the event!

Courtesy of Chloe Ip & Twiggy

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A Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU)-led team has discovered a new species of box jellyfish in the Mai Po Nature Reserve in Hong Kong.

The new jellyfish species, which belongs to the family Tripedaliidae, was named Tripedalia maipoensis by the research team. It is the first discovery of a new box jellyfish species from the waters of China. The discovery also adds a fourth species to the Tripedaliidae family.

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Scientists operating a submersible have discovered deep-sea coral reefs in pristine condition in a previously unexplored part of the Galápagos marine reserve.

Diving to depths of 600 metres (1,970ft), to the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago, the scientists witnessed a breathtaking mix of deep marine life.

This has raised hopes that healthy reefs can still thrive at a time when coral is in crisis due to record sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification. It also showed the effectiveness of conservation actions and effective management,

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After receiving intense backlash, the organisers of a hunting tournament that included a contentious feral cat-hunting category have withdrawn it.

The North Canterbury Hunting Competition, the annual fundraiser for Rotherham School and pool, yesterday unveiled a new younger division for hunters 14 years and under.

It included a category for the children to kill as many feral cats as they could by the end of June, with whoever kills the most winning $250. This prompted major concern from animal rights organisations who feared the children did not have the ability to discern feral cats from domestic ones.

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Twenty years on from the fox hunting ban, MSPs have backed new legislation which limits hunts involving packs of dogs. The Scottish government says its Hunting with Dogs Bill will end illegal hunts by closing a loophole in the law.

But animal welfare campaigners have warned that a licensing scheme will create a new loophole which could be exploited by hunters.Land managers have argued the bill is unnecessary and impracticable.

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The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court directed the Secretary of Government, Environment and Forest department to make sure there would take place no new acquisition of elephants by either temples/religious institution in Tamil Nadu.

The court also directed the Secretaries to conduct inspection of all temples and privately-owned elephants in an effort to prevent cruelty to elephants.

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Nations have reached a historic agreement to protect the world's oceans following 10 years of negotiations.

The High Seas Treaty aims to place 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030, to safeguard and recuperate marine nature.

The agreement was reached on Saturday evening, after 38 hours of talks, at UN headquarters in New York. The negotiations had been held up for years over disagreements on funding and fishing rights.

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Police have arrested a woman on suspicion of butchering a cat for food after its bloodstained carcass was found at a Hong Kong public housing flat on Wednesday.

Police said the woman was detained on suspicion of slaughtering a cat for food, an offence which is punishable by up to six months in jail and a HK$5,000 fine.

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A court in Vietnam has sentenced a man to 13 years in jail for trafficking nearly 10 tons of rhino horns, pangolin scales, and other banned wildlife products. 

Environmentalists hailed Tuesday's verdict as a "rare success" in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade. 

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A Chinese food blogger has been fined $18,500 (HK$21,100) for cooking and eating a great white shark in a video posted online. The blogger, who goes by the name Tizi was identified by officials as Jin, who said she had bought the shark on an Alibaba-owned shopping site Taobao for 7,700 yuan (HK$8,700).

Authorities said in a statement that Jin had bought the shark in April 2022 and posted the video on the social media platform Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and Kuaishou. The videos quickly went viral, showing Jin cooking the 2-meter-long great white shark in a spicy broth and eating its meat.

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