Paradise lost: outdated biodiversity laws leave rare fish at risk
HKU says biodiversity in peril after government fails to update species in need of protection for up to 20 years - and lists no fish at all
The laws protecting biodiversity in Hong Kong are outdated and in urgent need of review to save rare species in the wild, says a University of Hong Kong report.
Rare native fish are particularly at risk as none of the five ordinances related to animal protection provide legal protection for them, adds the report by the Faculty of Law, A Review of Hong Kong Wild Animal and Plants Protection Law.
Amanda Whitfort, an associate professor in the department, said the government was responsible for protecting native species.
"The paradise fish is surely one of the rare local species that should be put on the list of protected animals under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance but in fact it is not," she said.
Sham Chung, Sai Kung, is the most important habitat for the fish, but plans for a golf course put it under threat for years.
"It isn't that the law enforcers don't want to take action, it's that they lack the proper legal instruments to do so as many ordinances are not up to date," Whitfort said.
The Wild Animals Protection Ordinance, last reviewed in 1996, lists 22 categories of animals under protection - none of which are fish.