Following is a question by Dr the Hon Dennis Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, in the Legislative Council today (January 22):
Question:
It has been reported that in recent months, there have been multiple incidents of allegedly placing poisonous baits at roadsides to poison animals, resulting in a number of animals falling victims. The persons involved in such incidents might have committed the relevant offences under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of requests for assistance received by the Police in each of the past three years alleging that baits suspected to be used for poisoning animals were found at roadsides, and that some animals were suspected to have died as a result of consuming food containing poisonous baits placed at roadsides; the respective numbers of prosecutions involving such cases; and
(2) of the types of poisons involved in the cases mentioned in (1), and whether any of them are poisons regulated under the Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations (Cap. 138A); if so, of the details?
Reply:
President,
Having consulted the Security Bureau, the consolidated reply to the question from Dr the Hon Dennis Lam is as follows:
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) have jointly launched the Animal Watch Scheme in the past years to proactively prevent and detect suspected cases of animal cruelty through multi-agency collaboration. Through the Animal Watchers Programme and the "Be a Responsible Pet Owner" thematic website together with roving exhibitions, the HKPF and the AFCD have respectively been promoting the message of preventing cruelty to animals at the community level and online platforms; encouraging the public to report cases timely and to provide information that aids investigations; as well as raising public awareness of animal welfare.
From 2022 to 2024, the number of cases on cruelty to animals received by the HKPF, the number of persons arrested, as well as the relevant prosecution figures are tabulated below:
| 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Number of cases | 54 | 74 | 71 |
| Number of arrestees | 32 | 60 | 59 |
| Number of prosecution cases (Note) | 21 | 25 | 22 |
Note: Prosecution figures are up to the third quarter of 2024, including cases prosecuted by the AFCD.
The Government does not maintain the breakdown of information on the animal poisoning cases and the poison involved in the cases.
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