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Written by: Commentary Editing Room
2021-03-23 17:00
Last update date: 2021-03-23 17:00
The resumption of land in the Northeast New Development Area in the New Territories has begun. In addition to the residents moving out of their homes, how the government resettles community animals has also aroused social discussion.
On Monday (22nd), the Legislative Council's Subcommittee on Matters Concerning Animal Rights and Interests discussed the matter. Some members asked the department about the number of affected animals, but the department replied that there are no actual investigation figures.
Whether the government's resettlement plan is sufficient to allow all forced relocation animals to have homes has naturally become a social question.
Long before the official start of land resumption in the Northeast New Territories, last year the North District Council had discussed the arrangements for the resettlement of animals abandoned due to the development of the Northeast. Moved to the Baoshi Lake Village of the Housing Authority.
The government has already stated clearly that the Housing Authority has restrictions on keeping dogs in public housing, and only "service dogs" can deal with it at its discretion.
However, the service dog refers to "a guide dog serving visually impaired or hearing impaired tenants", and "a companion dog who has special needs and has been certified by a doctor or psychologist to be accompanied by a dog as a spiritual support and applied for breeding." , Which means that many residents who have moved to public housing need to be forced to give up keeping dogs.
On Monday (22nd), the Legislative Council's Subcommittee on Matters Concerning Animal Rights and Interests discussed the matter. Some members asked the department about the number of affected animals, but the department replied that there are no actual investigation figures.
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No actual figures are available for forced removal of animals to be resettled by the Department
Animals have been abandoned due to social development and residents’ relocation. It should be the shared responsibility of society to continue taking care of them. However, the AFCD has no actual survey figures on how many cats and dogs will actually be affected by the development of the Northeast New Territories.
According to the Department’s records in June 2020, there are about 280 dogs with valid licenses in the entire Kwu Tung North and Fanling North areas. However, many dogs and cats in the villages are actually not licensed, and the identities of the owners in many villages are unknown. The number of "co-raising dogs" may be seriously underestimated.
The animal protection organization "Northeast Anti-Movement Animal Team" visited 244 households in the Northeast region. Among them, 161 households (66%) raise cats and dogs, a total of 500 cats and dogs, with an average of 2.04 per household. The organization then referred to government documents. It is estimated that 1,000 households will be affected in the development of the Northeast, indicating that at least 2,000 animals may lose their homes due to the development of the Northeast.
Even if the figures of animal protection organizations are inaccurate, it can be reasonably estimated that the government's goal of caring for 300 stray animals is likely to be difficult to meet the actual needs and underestimate the scale of animal abandonment brought about by the development of the Northeast.
The government has the responsibility to avoid turning urban development into a humanitarian disaster. It should aim at "zero culling" while relocating stray animals in the northeast.
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The government is responsible for "zero culling"
Many cats and dogs in the village are unlicensed, and because unlicensed dog owners can be fined, this may make it difficult for the Department to accurately grasp the number of animals in the northeastern New Territories, which in turn affects the government's planning and construction of animal shelters.
If this is the case, the government may consider entrusting non-official organizations such as the Animal Protection Association to conduct home visits to households affected by the development of the Northeast to understand the actual animal figures in the Northeast.
After grasping the actual animal figures, the government should then allocate sufficient funds and land for the relevant figures and try its best to take care of each abandoned animal.
According to the discussion paper of the Rural and Land Development Working Group in April last year, the government stated at that time that it had contacted animal welfare organizations interested in operating animal adoption centers and stated that it had allocated 7.4 million and 4.2 million to two animal welfare organizations. Construction of an adoption center in Kam Tin, Yuen Long, that can accommodate 50 and 150 animals.
The relevant funding may be able to digest the licensed dogs living in the northeast of the New Territories. However, for the number of unlicensed dogs that the Department cannot control, the 200 locations supported by the government funding are believed to be insufficient to take care of all the abandoned dogs due to the development of the northeast. Cats and dogs.
If the abandoned animals cannot "go upstairs" to get resettlement, according to the AFCD guidelines, stray cats and dogs are still unclaimed 4 days after being received or captured and are assessed as unsuitable for adoption, they will face humane destruction. .
For example, in 2019, 1,056 cats and dogs were humanely destroyed, accounting for 48% of all cats and dogs received.
The government has the responsibility to prevent urban development from turning into a humanitarian disaster. When arranging stray animals in the Northeast, it should aim at "zero culling". First, count how many cats and dogs will become homeless due to their owners moving out in the future, and increase the number of animal welfare agencies. Funding and allocating land to accept stray animals, supplemented by propaganda and education, guide citizens to adopt adoption instead of buying pets, and try their best to settle all cats and dogs that have lost their homes due to urban development.
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