I joined the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPCA), as I am both a dog owner and an animal lover.
I think the society should look into the problem of pet shops in the SAR. Trading in puppies by pet shops, private sellers and street vendors is dreadful, as in most cases these dogs are sold as mere fashion accessories, or as a 'cute' item to show off to friends.
I appeal to the SPCA to lobby the Government and ask for it to issue guidelines that pet shops and other vendors and dog owners would be obliged to follow, so that the sale of dogs could be properly regulated. Another major issue that upsets me, as a resident of the New Territories, is the neglect that so many guard dogs suffer.
I have seen some of these dogs covered in ticks and fleas, with skin diseases, huge growths, chronic eye infections, physical disabilities and open wounds. Are the owners not legally responsible for their welfare? Lastly, the population of stray dogs seems to increase every year in Sai Kung. Is there not a programme to round up these stray dogs and de-sex them? I am forced to feed these sad creatures out of pity, but I would rather many of those in a bad state of health were humanely put out of their misery and that the others could be neutered, so that the population could be controlled.
LOLITA DEL MUNDO Sai Kung