Unwelcome deposits

When I moved into a hilltop village house above Sai Kung eight years ago, I expected tranquillity; breezes sighing through the lychee trees, an oriental cuckoo chorusing its morning greeting or even a pangolin sneaking through the bamboo forest. Instead, came dogs - lots of them - leaving their nightly collection of faeces. And most of the animals are my neighbours' pets.

At the bottom of my steps is a square; half publicly owned, half privately. The dogs, it seems, prefer privacy. Sometimes, there are a dozen deposits on my part of the square. One morning I spotted a man in a suit, leaning on my brick wall. He had a superior-looking Dalmatian with him. On the floor next to them was a pile of faeces. 'Do you live up here?' I asked. The man said he lived down the road. But the square presented a good opportunity to take his dog for a walk and to allow her to go to the toilet.

This kind of thing makes people angry. There have been so many complaints around Sai Kung that, eventually, district council chairman Ng Sze-fuk acted. 'I'm aware of the ongoing problem and we have regular complaints about dog fouling which create a nuisance and are a health hazard,' he said. 'It needs to be taken seriously. All 27 councillors are working on this.

'There are stringent laws to punish irresponsible dog owners. We hope there will be a new dog park in Sai Kung town ... funded by the council. But it would be more effective to educate the public to pick up after their dogs. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department should enhance its patrols. After Sars, people are more anxious about public health, especially pet hygiene.'

In 2002, a fixed penalty ordinance was enacted for public cleanliness offences, including dog fouling. After the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003, the maximum fine was raised to HK$1,500, from HK$600. Last year, a mere 46 fixed penalties were handed out for dog-fouling offences.

Mike Muir, a vet and partner at Pet Central Sai Kung, warned that dog faeces can be dangerous to young children. 'They can potentially transfer parasites from dogs to humans,' he said. 'Though it is rare, children are most susceptible and can get parasites and food poisoning. Responsible pet ownership is part of having a pet. This includes cleaning up after dogs.'