My Take | More must be done to crack down on the sickening abuse of cats
Videos of animal cruelty have spread from mainland China across the world. Yet laws to punish such acts are often insufficient or outdated
There has been something missing in my life for the last three years, after leaving Hong Kong and returning to England. His name is Roo. Now, we have been reunited.
My pet cat, adopted in 2014, remained in the city with my son. But Roo recently flew, at great expense, to London and is now happily adapting to life in the UK.
I had forgotten how much I enjoy the company of a cat. A growing number of people in Hong Kong – more than 100,000 households – are discovering the joy our feline friends can bring.
The annual Cat Expo, held in the city this month, featured 180 exhibitors offering products ranging from high-end snacks to DNA tests to check for hereditary diseases.
A survey revealed the city’s cat owners spend an average of more than HK$2,000 a month on their pet. The “cat market” was estimated at HK$2.4 billion, an increase of 9 per cent on the previous year. It is encouraging to see that cat owners were found to be paying greater attention to the health of their pets, helping to promote animal welfare generally.
Sadly, not everyone treats cats with the love and care they deserve. The day after the Cat Expo concluded, two 17-year-olds were sentenced to detention in the UK for the horrific torture and killing of two kittens found cut open and strung up in a London park.