Residents on Cheung Chau say packs of feral dogs roaming the island are killing domestic pets and pose a threat to young children.
'It's not a new problem but it has been getting worse,' resident Antonia Cable said. 'In recent months, the dogs have moved closer [to residential areas].'
Cable said packs of up to 12 dogs had been 'terrorising' the island. Her neighbour on Pak She San Tsuen had three cats killed in an attack by a pack of dogs last week. The cats were in a garden surrounded by a fence when attacked.
Unlike stray dogs, which might be abandoned or get lost, feral dogs are born in the wild. Cable said she had sighted at least 40 feral dogs on three Cheung Chau streets - Pak She San Tsuen, Siu Kwai Wan and Peak Road.
She said the dogs also posed a health risk because they scavenged for food in piles of rubbish and dragged it around at night. Rubbish was strewn everywhere by morning.
She was especially concerned about the safety of her two children, who are three and five years old, after she had seen packs of dogs outside her front door.