Hong Kong SPCA marks 100 years of rescuing animals and promoting their welfare in a city that doesn’t do enough to protect them
- Formed in 1921, the Hong Kong branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been rescuing animals and educating the public for a century
- Hong Kong’s animal protection laws remain woefully inadequate, but the fight to prevent cruelty continues
Jacqueline Kwan walks into the Kowloon branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), a parade of dogs behind her.
There’s Freddie the Shih Tzu, who was abandoned by its owner at a police station; Burita, a schnauzer, rescued from a breeding farm; and mongrel George, a rescued stray. She has nine more at home.
“I’m a failed fosterer who ended up adopting them – but I’m happy about that,” laughs Kwan, chairman of the SPCA (HK), the city’s oldest animal welfare organisation which this year marks its 100th anniversary.
Started by a group of animal-lovers in 1903, the society was officially recognised as a non-profit on June 23, 1921, and has since saved thousands of abandoned, sick and injured animals.
“From our early days as a purely volunteer-based body, we’ve grown into a major charity with around 200 staff and almost 30,000 members,” says Kwan. Looking ahead, the SPCA is working on its most ambitious project to date – the SPCA Jockey Club Centennial Centre, a state-of-the-art animal welfare centre in Tsing Yi, set to open next year.