Hong Kong’s existing animal welfare laws are no longer “fit for purpose” to deal with issues around pet abandonment and strays, legal experts have said, urging authorities to expedite long-delayed reforms to the city’s ordinances following a spate of dog attacks.
The calls echo comments by Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan, who said on Wednesday that authorities would look at whether existing penalties for pet abandonment should be strengthened and bring suggestions to the Legislative Council by the end of the year.
Hong Kong’s animal welfare laws – namely the Protection of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance and Dangerous Dogs Regulations – have drawn intense public scrutiny following a string of recent incidents, including the suspected fatal mauling of a woman by stray dogs in Yuen Long last Saturday night.
“Hong Kong’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance ... remains fundamentally focused on prohibiting acts of cruelty,” said Kim McCoy, a practising barrister and founder of the Hong Kong Animal Law and Protection Organisation.
“It is an outdated and fundamentally flawed framework, no longer fit for purpose and wholly incapable of meeting the demands of modern society.”
Stray dogs have caused increasing concern as land clearance for the Northern Metropolis megaproject has led to a surge in abandoned animals.
Preparatory land resumption for the megaproject in the New Territories has triggered a growing animal welfare crisis, as many residents and business operators abandon pets or guard dogs ahead of government clearance deadlines.
Despite these concerns, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) previously told the South China Morning Post that no prosecutions had been brought against people for abandoning animals under the Rabies Ordinance – the law governing such matters – between 2023 and 2025.
In his recent policy address, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the government would amend the city’s laws on animal care by the end of 2027 while also reviewing pet ownership and control regulations.
Speaking to lawmakers on Wednesday, Tse said authorities would bring suggestions to the Legislative Council by the end of 2026.
But animal law reform has been an ongoing discussion in the city for years, with the government submitting a paper to the Legislative Council in 2022 outlining proposed amendments to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance.
The proposals, which received support from 88 per cent of respondents during a public consultation exercise in 2019, included increasing the maximum penalties for animal cruelty offences and strengthening rules around animal abandonment.
They also introduced a positive “duty of care” provision, long sought by animal welfare advocates and legal experts, requiring owners to ensure their pets’ safety and fulfil basic care obligations.
Such requirements would include ensuring animals have a suitable diet and living environment, exhibit normal behaviour patterns, and are protected from pain, suffering and injury.
While the 2022 paper suggested the bill amendments would be put before lawmakers that year, it was never formally introduced. In subsequent responses to lawmakers’ questions on the lack of progress, the government as recently as this February cited “divergent views” among stakeholders on the need for “duty of care” provisions and the extent of penalties.
It is not yet clear whether the government’s new round of proposed amendments will match those introduced in 2022.
Animal welfare advocates have argued that existing laws make it difficult to prosecute owners who fail to microchip or properly secure their pets, while allowing them to deny that an abandoned animal belongs to them.
McCoy said introducing “duty of care” rules would define responsible ownership, and a person who acquired an animal would need to accept the responsibilities that came with their decision.
“In the context of these recent incidents, a properly drafted ‘duty of care’ could help prevent neglect and abandonment, improve standards of supervision and enable earlier intervention where an animal’s welfare is being compromised,” he said.
He also called for a comprehensive review of the city’s Rabies Ordinance.
“While rabies prevention remains important, we should not be relying on disease-control legislation to address fundamental issues such as animal abandonment, irresponsible ownership and the humane management of stray animals,” he said.
Amanda Whitfort, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong specialising in animal law, said there was a need to introduce welfare standards for animals, prosecute abandonment, and introduce humane population control of strays in certain areas.
Whitfort co-wrote a landmark animal law reform report in 2010 which, among a number of recommendations, called for the implementation of a new Animal Welfare Ordinance containing “duty of care” provisions.
“Rather than take a holistic view of solving these problems, the [AFCD’s] policy has been to collect and pass on their responsibility for unwanted dogs to overburdened shelters. This policy has not been sustainable for some time,” she said.
She noted that the department had not brought any prosecutions for animal abandonment in recent years, which she argued “sends the public the message that they may give up their responsibilities to their pets without significant repercussions”.
Whitfort said it was too easy for people to keep dogs without obtaining licences under existing rules, and suggested that laws could be altered to reward those who spay or neuter their dogs with lower licence fees.
She also called on authorities to follow Macau’s example, where failing to report the loss of a dog within a specific time period was an offence.
In a reply to the SCMP, the AFCD said that pet owners had a responsibility not only to care for their pets but also to control them.
“While ‘duty of care’ focuses primarily on the animal’s welfare needs, the concept of ‘pet owner responsibility’ encompasses welfare, safety, environmental considerations and public health,” it said.
“We will encourage pet owners to understand and fulfil their responsibilities through reviewing regulations and conducting public education and publicity campaigns.”
The department also reiterated that the government would consult the Legislative Council on proposals to step up efforts to combat cruelty to animals, and that it would work to complete the amendment exercise in 2027. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
