We're powerless, say six government departments
Six government departments say they are powerless to stop a pet-cremation business belching plumes of foul-smelling smoke from a factory building in busy Tai Kok Tsui.
Residents and workers in the area say their health is being affected by the animal incinerator, which is in use 'from dusk till dawn', spewing ash and smoke and causing psychological trauma.
A chemist warned that the incinerator, in a top-floor unit of the factory building, could by emitting cancer-causing chemicals such as dioxins.
A lawmaker has urged officials to regulate pet incinerators, which the Environmental Protection Department says require a permit only if they have the capacity to cremate half a tonne an hour - equivalent to 100 cats.
The Don't Forget Pets Cremation Centre, in the Mow Shing Centre, Bedford Road, began cremating dead pets in May. Workers in the factory building said the centre operates from dusk till dawn, belching heavy smoke and foul odours.