Stuck in the dog house
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E-mail China Daily, December 2, 2013
Difficult to enforce law
Wong said he was also concerned the proposed law would be difficult to enforce, especially with the Category A license-holders, who would operate in private residential areas which would not be easily accessible to inspectors.
“Ideally we would like to see all dog breeding banned in Hong Kong. Around 30 cities around the world actually practice this already,” said Wong.
“The living environment of Hong Kong is unique. We have cramped small living premises which are totally impractical for dog breeding.”
In a statement, the AFCD said it considered a total ban on breeding dogs not reasonable and believed better regulation of the trade was the best way forward to safeguard animal welfare and public health.
University of Hong Kong law professor Amanda Whitfort, who specializes in animal welfare law and has been involved in the drafting of the amendments, agreed the legislation could be better but said the fundamentals were very sound.
“At the moment what we have is a joke. There are about 18 million dollars’ worth of puppies being traded every year, about 11,500 puppies being sold in the pet shops, and 74 per cent of those are coming from unlicensed breeders,” said Whitfort.
“These are people who are not being inspected and doing what they like. They are selling puppies for HK$3,000 to HK$10,000 and maybe up to HK$20,000 for a poodle.
“They are not complying with any sanitation, health, behavioral or socialization standards that you get when you have a license. They are not paying tax or MPF. It’s disgraceful, both in terms of animal welfare and business.”
Whitfort, the co-author of a 2010 review of animal welfare legislation in Hong Kong, said opposition groups were failing to see the bigger picture and that the AFCD had not communicated clearly at times, resulting in mistrust.
“The problem is if we miss this opportunity, we are looking at a status quo for the next five or 10 years,” she said
“I think we are all on the same page. I don’t think anyone accepts unlicensed breeding except those who make money from it.
“They (animal NGOs) have to accept it, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be tweaked to address issues like capping the number of dogs kept or only allowing one litter per female each year. If we stop it now, we will be back where we were in 2008; we will be back to nothing.”
Animal Earth’s David Wong is not convinced and says he will continue to press for one license.
“As far as we are concerned, the proposed regulation is worse than nothing,” he said. “In fact it gives those breeders a license to exploit animals.”
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