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Fiona Sun

Hong Kong authorities’ intensified enforcement against dog owners who fail to control their pets has drawn mixed reactions, with supporters welcoming improved safety and critics warning it is stoking panic and hostility.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department carried out inspections and enforcement operations across the city on Saturday following a spate of dog attacks in recent weeks.
Among those walking their pets at the West Kowloon Cultural District despite the heat were civil servant Mark Mak, 35, his wife and their two daughters.
Mak, who owns a six-year-old dog named Mori, said he always leashed his pet in public to prevent it from wandering or coming into contact with other dogs and disapproved of owners who did not.
“The inspections and enforcement are good for protecting the safety of people and pets. They should be continued as we don’t want to see any more tragedies,” he said.

Finance sector employee Kim Chan, also in his thirties, walked his nine-year-old black labradoodle, Charcoal, at the cultural district. Chan said that although his dog was well-behaved and non-aggressive, he always used a leash to protect it and avoid affecting others.
“The measures can improve protection and remind dog owners of their responsibilities as some people, including children, may be afraid of dogs,” he said.
But an owner of a 10-year-old mongrel, who gave only her surname, Cheung, said the stepped-up inspections had created panic in communities. She cited growing hostility from others, including taxi drivers refusing to give her and her dog a ride.
“Such measures only spread panic and make people think that having a dog is a problem,” Cheung, in her thirties, said.
Staff patrolled the cultural district with signs reminding people to leash their pets, a measure also observed at tech hub Cyberport in Pok Fu Lam, where some dog owners walked with their pets.
Retiree Betty Ngai, 63, and her husband were enjoying an outing with their four-year-old poodle at Cyberport.

Ngai said she kept her dog on a leash for most of the time outside despite its small size, and supported the government’s reinforced actions in response to recent attacks as a reminder to owners to keep pets under proper control.
Authorities stepped up enforcement against dog owners who fail to keep their pets under control during special operations over this weekend and on August 30.
The department said officers would step up inspections at public places where dogs congregated, and take immediate enforcement action without warning if keepers were found not to have properly controlled their dogs in accordance with legal requirements.
The department earlier said it conducted operations in Yuen Long, West Kowloon, Cyberport and Kai Tak on August 30, and would prosecute three dog owners for failing to keep large dogs on a leash in public areas.
Under the Rabies Ordinance, it is an offence to leave a dog unleashed in public areas or at any place from which it may wander into a public space. Offenders can be fined HK$10,000 (US$1,275) upon conviction.
Under the Dangerous Dogs Regulation, any dog weighing 20kg or more must be secured in public with a leash of up to two metres. Anyone who fails to comply faces a maximum penalty of three months in prison and a HK$25,000 fine.
Last month, a 33-year-old pet training facility owner was mauled by a mixed-breed fighting dog registered as a mongrel. She was found dead nearby after the attack.
A 60kg mixed-breed dog killed a miniature poodle and a bichon frise in separate attacks near Yoho Mall in Yuen Long last month.


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A worker at the West Kowloon Cultural District reminds dog owners about the rules. Photo: Silvia Siu

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A dog leash attached to a two-year-old Corgi at the West Kowloon Cultural District. Photo: Silvia Siu

Mark Mak’s six-year-old dog, Mori. Photo: Silvia Siu

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News

Hong Kong

Society

‘The inspections and enforcement are good for protecting the safety of people and pets. They should be continued as we don’t want to see any more tragedies,’ one dog owner says


‘The inspections and enforcement are good for protecting the safety of people and pets. They should be continued as we don’t want to see any more tragedies,’ one dog owner says.


Hong Kong society

Animals