Q Should dogs be allowed to use public beaches?
I am straining at the leash about the Hoi Ha locals, namely the so-called Friends of Hoi Ha chairwoman Nicola Newbery and resident Karen Winton, and their selfish and over-the-top reaction to some dogs enjoying a day out with their owners at the Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park beach.
Of course dogs should be allowed to use public beaches. It should not even have been posed as a question. Since when did dog-haters have the divine right to determine that only they have the right to enjoy the natural environment?
Is the Hoi Ha Wan beach the sole preserve of Ms Newbery and Ms Winton? Does Ms Winton live in the real world if she can describe the beach as 'a scene from a horror movie?'
Such scenes are those being played out daily in Iraq, the Palestinian territories, Afghanistan and other trouble spots, not at the Hoi Ha Wan beach.
There is enough persecution of animals by people in this world already, without petty little people like those at Hoi Ha putting in their ten pennyworth of nonsense.
It was gratifying, however, to see that the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has emphasised that marine parks are public areas (not just the sole preserve of a select few) and that no violation of the Dogs and Cats Ordinance was found.