Police launch probe as 15 pets die after 25 animals including cats, rabbits and chinchillas suspected to have been thrown from Hong Kong high-rise
- In all, 25 animals including 9 chinchillas and a guinea pig are believed to have been hurled from building
- Security guard at private Hong Kong Garden housing estate made the grim find and called police
Fifteen pets including a cat, several chinchillas and two rabbits died after apparently being thrown from a high-rise residential building in Hong Kong, sparking a police investigation.
They were among 25 animals – 14 chinchillas, six cats, two rabbits, a guinea pig, a parrot and an unidentified rodent – believed to have been hurled from block 19 of the private Hong Kong Garden housing estate near Sham Tseng in the New Territories.
A security guard at the estate made the grim find and called police at about 1pm on Friday, saying there were a number of dead animals lying on a slope.
Officers arrived and found either dead or severely injured animals scattered around on the ground and in a ditch next to the building. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was alerted.
SPCA officers confirmed a cat, two rabbits, nine chinchillas, the guinea pig, the rodent and the parrot were found dead.
The injured ones, five cats and five chinchillas, were taken to the SPCA’s veterinary clinic in Wan Chai.
A spokeswoman said the 15 carcasses would be passed on to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department for examination.
On Saturday afternoon, three more cats were found in the area. The spokeswoman said they were uninjured and examined by the SPCA’s vets.
A police spokesman said a district investigation team in Tsuen Wan was on the case. There have been no arrests.
Police urged anyone with information about the case to call investigators at 3661 2415.
