(CN) Fur is set to fly over animal-ownership crackdown

[Guest guest]

South China Morning Post

http://hongkong.scmp.com/hknews/ZZZSMOL5DID.html

Friday, July 25, 2003

by ANNA HEALY FENTON

 

Worried pet owners have come out of the woodwork since the recent

announcement that only fish and birds will be allowed in public housing. The

number of animals affected by the new hygiene points system is now becoming

clearer. One indicator is the 100-plus phone calls received each day by the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

A typical caller, according to SPCA spokeswoman Doris Yiu Wai-fun, is

the single mother bringing up two difficult sons. Since the family got their

two cats, the boys' behaviour has improved, and says Ms Yiu, " now she's

scared if the cats go, she will no longer be able to manage her sons. "

 

Pet ownership has always been disallowed at Hong Kong's housing

estates, though enforcement was lax until Team Clean - the government's

post-Sars task force on hygiene - announced its points system. Under the

system, pet ownership is one of the sins for which tenants will be assigned

points, and those who accumulate too may points will be evicted.

 

Until now, the Housing Department has claimed not to know how many

animals will be evicted as a result of the system. " The pets are usually

hidden so we have no way of counting them,'' a department spokeswoman says.

 

Last year, 257 pet owners were warned and one evicted. In the first

six months of this year, there were 447 warnings and seven notices to quit.

From April to June there have been 174 warnings, with no evictions. Estate

management staff, " have been keeping an eye out for pets recently,'' she

adds.

 

The Housing Department has not been able to muster much sympathy for

the pets and pet owners put in jeopardy by the new policies. A department

spokeswoman suggests hopefully that people could give the animals away to

friends and added that some help might be given but could not detail what

form the aid will take. " Well, it's their responsibility anyway, they signed

the lease. Before the implementation of the marking scheme they must make

arrangements, " she says.

 

Based on a survey finding that 28 per cent of Hong Kong people keep

pets, Ms Yiu says, there could be as many as 200,000 households in the

city's public housing system that keep animals - with many keeping more than

one. The Housing Department's stance on the owners' responsibility to

dispose of the pets has shifted the burden to other government departments -

such as the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation - and to private

agencies such as SPCA.

 

Many of these agencies, already bursting at the seams with unwanted

pets, are calling for a re-evaluation of the points system and of community

attitudes toward animals in general.

 

" A compassionate society should be developed in Hong Kong,'' says

Doctor John Wedderburn of the Asian Animal Protection Network, one of the 12

animal welfare organisations that took part in a protest of the points

system last Friday. " The right for life starts with animals.''

 

Lee Cert-quinn, chief housing manager [support services] in the

Housing Department, agrees that people's right to keep animals and the

rights of animals should be respected. He adds, however, that congestion is

the real reason for the new rules. There are still 10,000 public housing

tenants living in less than 5.5 square metres each, he says, when the target

is seven metres. " There simply isn't enough space for pets too.''

 

The newest public units measure 422 square feet for four to five

people. For hygiene and nuisance reasons, pet keeping is not feasible, he

adds. " We have a Chinese saying: when one dog barks at a shadow, 100,000

dogs bark.''

 

But SPCA deputy executive director Pauline Taylor dismisses this

argument. As long as the dogs are trained, sterilised, exercised and

properly licensed and registered, they should be allowed to live in public

housing, she says. " Even in the smallest flats.''

 

Of course no one should have to live next door to 10 Rottweilers, she

adds. " In Singapore, it's one toy dog of an approved breed. " There is no

reason why a similar approach could not work in Hong Kong, Ms Taylor says.

" I appreciate the housing is different there but the fundamentals are the

same.''

 

She calls for proper animal regulations in Hong Kong. The existing

rules date back to the 1960s when villagers were first housed in public

blocks and brought all their animals with them. She recalls a photo of fire

services winching a cow out of a Mongkok public block. " All the rules need

updating.''

 

But Mr Lee won't budge. " We are the housing department and our job is

to provide affordable housing. It is the responsibility of other government

departments to look after the welfare of animals, " he says. " We have to

ensure we provide a safe, clean environment. "

 

The irony of it all, says Ms Taylor, is that Hong Kong's crackdown

comes just as Beijing is looking at relaxing its Draconian dog laws.

 

anna.healyfenton