Backward attitude to owning pets in Hong Kong must change

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Dogs chilling at the newly opened Wan Po Road Pet Garden in Tseung Kwan O. 48 Hours Magazine. Photo: Handout

Published: 3:48pm, 20 Oct 2017Updated: 12:38pm, 15 Oct 2020

We know more about the nature of animals than ever before. Pet companions are beneficial to our well-being, which is all the more reason to be proactive about protecting them.

Education is key, but if parents set a bad example and fail to understand compassion, how can their children learn to be kind? The recent fiasco over a cat accused of scratching a five-year-old is a perfect example (“Fur flies in city over feline in quarantine for scratching boy”, October 11).

By making such a fuss, the parent will not instil a love of cats in her son. Parents who show their dislike of companion animals perpetuate such behaviour, teaching their children to be fearful of animals instead of loving them.

At Los Angeles airport, the PUP programme helps de-stress passengers by encouraging them to meet pet dogs (“Man’s best friend gets new role in American airports”, September 12), while in highly stressed Hong Kong, we have “No dogs allowed” stickers plastered everywhere.

If it is encouraged to become a more humane international city, perhaps people will become less belligerent and more considerate towards one another.

The law allowing a few malicious residents to suddenly enforce the no-dogs-allowed regulation on housing estates, after years of acquiescence to dog keeping, needs to be reviewed.