There is more than enough ignorance, neglect and cruelty in Hong Kong when it comes to the understanding of, and caring for, animals, without TVB Pearl adding to it with the planned screening of a programme entitled When Good Pets Go Bad.
One of the promotional trailers shows a dog biting the trouser leg of a man being dragged across the ground and another man standing close by pointing his gun at the animal. The next clip shows a person with his head clamped between the jaws of a crocodile. (Why is the reptile a 'pet'?) Both scenes depict animals in situations where they are perceived as the aggressor, although the viewer remains in ignorance as to the provocation leading to their actions. The man with the gun implies that a violent response towards the dog is both called for and acceptable.
A second, more recent trailer, shows a woman caught in the mouth of a whale and alludes to the folklore whale known as Moby Dick, with the words flashed on the screen 'Darker, meaner'.
The sensationalist propaganda (or should I say drivel?) shown in the trailers, more of which we can expect when the programme is aired on April 10, is bound to excite only more prejudice towards animals within the Hong Kong community.
It also shows how illogical, irrational and hypocritical Hong Kong's censorship guidelines are.
It appears that domestic animals going crazy and attacking people are perfectly acceptable, but many scenes in films, for instance, that are both integral to the plot and accepted for international audiences are cut out.
