CONCERNS over the delay in implementing electronic registration for dogs - where a microchip the size of a rice grain is inserted under the skin of the animal's neck - have been raised again after another attack yesterday.
The Economic Services Branch is still finalising the legislative amendments allowing for the hi-tech system's introduction which may not be until after April - 15 months late.
Canine experts are concerned over the delays, saying the system - which holds the owner's name and address - was promised in January last year. They say countless dogs are being put down and attacks on people are continuing 'unnecessarily'.
A 57-year-old man was bitten on the right arm in Fung Tak Estate, Wong Tai Sin, about 11 am yesterday by a 36-kilogram, metre-high dog.
He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital with deep cuts to the hand and forearm. Police were searching for the dog's owners last night.
The microchip system allows police and officers from the Agriculture and Fisheries Department to identify the owners of dogs involved in an attack and check its vaccination history.
The registration was to commence compulsorily last January but was changed to mid-1995 due to delays in tendering of the equipment.
