A blaze that killed 17 dogs and cats in a Happy Valley pet store last Wednesday has prompted an animal welfare group to call for sprinklers to be installed in such shops.
The fire broke out at about 5.10am at Noble Lifestyle for Pets in Yuen Yuen Street because of a short circuit in an air conditioner. Firefighters took about 20 minutes to put it out.
'Animals in pet stores are no different from those in zoos,' Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spokeswoman Rebecca Ngan said. 'They're confined in cages and cannot escape in a fire. It's the owners' job to give them extra protection, and installing a sprinkler is one way.'
Owners of the city's 300 pet stores are under no legal obligation to install sprinklers and some are not convinced they are the answer.
'The smoke will still hurt the animals even if a sprinkler is installed,' Pet Trade Association president Howard Cheung Sin-ho said. 'The fire was purely an accident. There was no way it could have been prevented.'
Meanwhile, the owner of the burnt-out store said she would take her animals home in future rather than leave them unattended overnight. 'All we wanted was to make our pets cooler, happier and healthier,' said Wing Tong, explaining why she had installed the air conditioner.