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Amy Nip

The number of people prosecuted for abusing animals dropped by half last year, lawmakers heard yesterday.
The government received 157 complaints of animal abuse, health minister Dr York Chow Yat-ngok  told the Legislative Council. Nine people were prosecuted and convicted.
There were 187 complaints in 2008 and 190 the year before. In both years, 18 people were prosecuted. 
Chow said: 'Given the distinctive nature of animal cruelty cases and that the animals involved are mostly stray cats and dogs, law enforcement officers unavoidably encounter relatively great difficulty in collecting and adducing evidence.'
With the case last month of five cats being thrown to their death from a building still fresh in their memories, some lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction at the number of people taken to court for animal abuse.
Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan  felt the number of prosecutions was relatively low. He said he had seen more cases in which animals had been killed.
In January 2008 the police introduced guidelines on how to handle reports of animal cruelty. Such cases are referred to crime officers for investigation.
Miriam Lau Kin-yee,  of the Liberal Party, referred to a stray cat having its leg cut off and monkeys being shot by air guns and stun guns. She proposed the establishment of a police unit targeting animal abuse.
Democrat Fred Li Wah-ming  suggested a pilot programme to neuter stray animals in eight districts. 
Chow rejected both ideas. The law stated all dogs must have an owner, he said. 'If they are neutered and released, who will be their owners?'
Animal Earth founder David Wong Kai-yan  said police were more willing to file cases on animal abuse than years ago. But they do not spend much effort in finding people who kill strays, he said. 'In order to warn people against animal abuse, the police should devote more resources to investigate several landmark cases.'
Many prosecutors were unsure about the definition of animal abuse, said the director of the Society for Abandoned Animals, El Chan Suk-kuen. 'It may be a case of pet neglect case, they say. They will avoid initiating prosecution [against pet abuse] as long as they can,' she said.



Prosecutions for animal abuse fall