Hong Kong lawmakers, volunteers raise alarm over rise in stray dogs in New Territories

A surge in the number of stray and abandoned dogs over the past six months in newly developed areas in Hong Kong’s New Territories has prompted lawmakers and animal welfare activists to call for more support for displaced animals.

They urged authorities to set up animal shelters to take in animals abandoned by their owners and moved away, relaxed rules for residents who want to keep pets in social housing and offered more help to animal protection organizations.

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) lawmaker Edward Lau Kwok-fan said on Saturday that conditions in the Kwu Tung North, Fanling North and Hung Shui Kiu development areas have deteriorated.

He said the animals had been abandoned by their owners, who had moved to public apartments or emigrated. Also, the re-occupation of land had forced the closure of warehouses and garages, leaving dogs previously used as guard dogs at the sites abandoned.

“Many animal protection volunteers working in the New Territories North have reported to us that the number of stray or abandoned dogs has increased significantly over the past six months compared to the previous year,” he said.

“Moving to social housing, land reclamation and emigration are the main reasons dog owners give for abandoning their pets,” he added.

Kent Luk Ka-jeep, a volunteer at Paws Guardian Rescue Shelter, said his group received a flood of requests for help for abandoned animals in Yuen Long and Hung Shui Kiu, with many owners forced to abandon their pets after moving them to public estates.

The rescue group has received three to four cases of abandoned animals per week over the past six months, compared to three to four cases per month before that, he said.

He added that his group had already reached maximum capacity to take in the animals, with a total of more than 90 dogs and about 100 cats at the Yuen Long shelter and two other centres.

He noted that there are few opportunities to interact with these pets, either through volunteers or animal groups.

“This serious problem has been around for a long time, but recently we have received so many cases due to the re-occupation of land for development,” he said. “There is no mechanism or department that deals with this issue.”

He urged authorities to take stricter measures to reduce the number of stray animals from the source, by having the animals sterilised before they are released.

DAB has called on the government to formulate comprehensive plans for animal housing in its planning projects in the northern metropolitan area.

There were also calls for the establishment of large-scale, long-term animal shelters in new developing locations to support animals and provide them with adoption and medical care.

Authorities should relax the rules to allow residents to take their pets with them when they move into social housing, DAB said.

The government should also provide more support to animal welfare organizations and increase penalties for abandoning animals, the alliance said.