Letters | As Hong Kong fights Covid-19, animals must not be easy casualties

Readers discuss the importance of government sensitivity in invoking the power to kill, confusion over Covid-19 death data and the pain of Hong Kong’s continuing flight bans

Reading Time:4 minutes

A dog wearing a raincoat crosses a street in Tsim Sha Tsui during a cold spell on February 20. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 11:30am, 13 Apr 2022Updated: 12:30pm, 13 Apr 2022

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Early this year, the Hong Kong government advised people to surrender their pet hamsters to be euthanised after several hamsters tested positive for coronavirus, due to the possibility of animal-to-human transmission.

The decision was met with immense public outrage. Upset pet owners and animal welfare groups condemned the government for not taking animal welfare and the human-animal bond into consideration.

Culling animals as a Covid prevention measure is controversial. In Denmark, the prime minister apologised and dropped plans for a mass cull of mink to curb the spread of coronavirus. In one city in China, the authorities recently axed a plan to kill all pets belonging to Covid-19 patients following an outcry.

Recently, the Hong Kong government introduced amendments to the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap 599) and Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation (Cap 599A), making it compulsory for owners to surrender “an article”, which includes an animal, upon direction by a health officer, and enhancing the penalty for non-compliance, which would now attract a fine up to HK$10,000 and imprisonment not exceeding six months.

While it is right to legislate to prevent a public health hazard, the Hong Kong government should do more work to balance different interests before arriving at a proportionate and prudent decision.