ISE10/20-21
| Subject: | food safety and environmental hygiene, animal policy, animal welfare |
- Animals that have been abandoned or gone astray may stray on the streets, causing nuisances such as noise, hygiene and safety issues. As part of the efforts to control stray animal population, euthanasia is commonly adopted in animal shelters in many places around the world, including Hong Kong, for treatment of stray animals that are not reclaimed or adopted. However, some animal concern groups are concerned about the use of euthanasia for healthy stray animals which is considered to be inhumane. They thus call for a review of the practice and related stray animal management policy to enhance the welfare of stray animals.
- Meanwhile, some places such as Taiwan, India, Germany and Italy have imposed a legal ban on euthanasia of healthy animals in animal shelters. This issue of Essentials highlights the issues relating to the control and treatment of stray animals in Hong Kong. It is followed by an overview of the policy on "no-kill" of stray animals in animal shelters in Taiwan with specific focus on its implementation experiences, outcomes and issues of concern as a reference for Hong Kong.
Hong Kong
- In Hong Kong, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") operates four animal management centres ("AMCs") which are responsible for, among others, catching and handling stray animals. It also handles animals from other sources such as animals given up by their owners or illegally imported animals seized by AFCD. However, AFCD does not provide animal adoption service directly to the public. According to the guidelines of AFCD, stray dogs and cats left unclaimed1Legend symbol denoting AFCD will trace the owners of those stray animals with implanted microchips and arrange for reclaim by the owners. but assessed to be in good health and having a gentle temperament would be transferred or rehomed to animal welfare organizations ("AWOs") for adoption by the public. Stray dogs and cats which are not reclaimed after four days and assessed to be not suitable for rehoming (i.e. not in good health or having aggressive temperament) would be euthanized.
- Over the years, AFCD has implemented various measures to control the number of stray animals in Hong Kong and the number of animals to be euthanized. These include (a) requiring pet owners to have their dogs aged over five months to be microchipped and licensed, thereby facilitating identification of the dogs; (b) promoting responsible pet ownership through public education and publicity; and (c) collaborating with the 18 partnering AWOs in promoting rehoming, neutering2Legend symbol denoting Pet owners can have their pets neutered on a voluntary basis. Free neutering service is provided to pet owners who adopt their pets from AWOs which work with AFCD to provide rehoming and adoption services. and proper management of animals, and providing subventions to eligible AWOs since 2011 to support their work in promoting animal welfare and animal adoption on a project basis.3Legend symbol denoting Under the subvention programme, AFCD has supported AWOs in promoting animal welfare and animal adoption, including setting up animal rehoming centres, enhancing facilities of rehoming centres, providing neutering and medical services to animals adopted, and organizing education and publicity activities. In 2019-2020, about HK$1.3 million were granted to 11 AWOs, up from around HK$571,000 for 11 AWOs in 2018-2019. See GovHK (2019b) and Food and Health Bureau (2020).
- Reflecting the above efforts, the number of stray dogs and cats caught had decreased from 3 771 in 2015 to 1 269 in 2019. During the same period, the rehoming rate of dogs and cats received by AMCs from various sources had increased from 15% (819 out of 5 336 dogs and cats handled) to 28% (625 out of 2 212). Despite the declining trend in the number of dogs and cats euthanized (down from 3 117 in 2015 to 1 056 in 2019), the euthanization rate still stayed at about 48% in 2019.4Legend symbol denoting See Food and Health Bureau (2017 and 2020).
- Notwithstanding the above-mentioned progress, some animal welfare groups and Legislative Council Members have considered that it is inhumane to euthanize healthy stray animals and have advocated adoption of the "no-kill" policy for animals in AMCs with reference to the "no-kill" policy implemented in Taiwan.5Legend symbol denoting Some Legislative Council Members expressed concern about euthanization of healthy stray animals at the meetings of the Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Animal Welfare and Cruelty to Animals set up in 2015 and the Subcommittee to Study Issues Relating to Animal Rights set up in 2016. See Legislative Council Secretariat (2016 and 2018). For minimizing the use of euthanasia on stray animals, there have been suggestions for the Government to6Legend symbol denoting See Legislative Council Secretariat (2016 and 2018), GovHK (2019b) and 香港01(2019年). (a) further boost rehoming and adoption rate by setting up more AMCs or public rehoming/adoption centres to provide rehoming and adoption services directly; (b) support the operations of AWOs which have limited resources by providing subsidy to cover their recurrent expenditures such as rentals since such expenditures are not covered under the existing subvention programme; and (c) control stray animals at source by fully implementing the "Trap-Neuter-Return" ("TNR") programme which was put under trial at two sites between January 2015 and January 2018. Under the TNR programme, stray dogs were caught, neutered and then returned to their original habitat.
- According to the Government, euthanasia has been agreed to be an appropriate solution by the World Organisation for Animal Health7Legend symbol denoting The World Organisation for Animal Health, an inter-governmental organization comprising some 180 member countries, is responsible for improving animal health worldwide. It promulgates standards and practices for better protection of animal health and promotion of animal welfare. for controlling the population of stray dogs in situations where the number of stray dogs caught remains high or the dogs are not fit for adoption despite the deployment of various stray dog management measures. Nonetheless, the Government has advised that it would monitor the development on stray animal management measures adopted by the international community with a view to improving the local practices.8Legend symbol denoting See Legislative Council Secretariat (2018). AFCD has also indicated that it has no plan to implement the TNR programme at other sites as the predetermined performance targets were not achieved in the trial programme. However, AFCD has agreed to provide relevant assistance to AWOs in case they are interested in conducting the TNR programme at other specific locations.9Legend symbol denoting Evaluation of the TNR trial programme indicated that the targets of reducing stray dog population and complaints related to stray dog nuisance at the trial sites were not achieved. AFCD indicated that the TNR concept may not be effective in reducing the stray dog population and nuisance within a short period, given the average lifespan of stray dogs under the caring and medical treatment by AWOs involved in the trial programme is expected to be longer than other stray dogs that are not regularly fed and cared. Besides, there was difficulty in recording accurately the number of dogs on the sites as they could move around the vast site areas. See Food and Health Bureau and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (2018).
Taiwan
- In Taiwan, the control of stray animals has been an issue of public concern since the 1980s when abandonment of pet animals became prevalent amidst growth in pet ownership.10Legend symbol denoting See Reuters (2007). According to the estimate of the Council of Agriculture ("COA"),11Legend symbol denoting COA, established in 1984, is the competent authority under the Executive Yuan entrusted with administering agricultural, forestry, fishery, animal husbandry, food, and animal protection related affairs in Taiwan. the number of stray dogs was at a high of around 614 000 (or 2.79 per 100 population) in 1999 before declining to about 147 000 in 2018 (or 0.62 per 100 population).12Legend symbol denoting See 行政院農業委員會：《推動友善動物保護計畫(109年至112年)(核定本)》(2019年). The improvement was attributable to a number of measures implemented by COA during the period. These included (a) enacting the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) in 1998 to regulate animal abandonment and pet owners' responsibilities; (b) setting up animal shelters to hold the stray or abandoned animals; (c) controlling stray animals at source by measures such as neutering; and (d) promoting adoption of stray animals. The latter two measures have also helped reduce the euthanization rate of animals held at some 30 public animal shelters from the peak of 76% (amounting to 82 887 animals) in 2006 to 26% (25 057 animals) in 2014 amid increase in the animal adoption rate.13Legend symbol denoting 13. The adoption rate for animals held at public animal shelters had increased from 15% in 2006 to 58% in 2014. See 行政院農業委員會：《「改善政府動物管制收容設施計畫」(公共建設 - 中長程計畫)第二次修正計畫書 - 自103至110年度》(2019年). At that time, animals held at public animal shelters that had not been claimed or adopted after 12 days from the date of issuance of a notice or public announcement would be put down in accordance with the Animal Protection Act.
- Despite decline of the euthanization rate, animal welfare groups had called for the implementation of "no-kill" policy to end euthanasia since the early 2010s amidst rising concern about the plights of animals in animal shelters.14Legend symbol denoting The public's concern about the welfare of stray animals in animal shelters had heightened after the release of the documentary entitled "Twelve Nights" ("十二夜") in late 2013 which revealed the plight of animals in a public animal shelter. See關懷生命協會(2014年). Subsequently, the Animal Protection Act was amended in February 2015 to enhance animal protection. In particular, the Act imposes a ban on euthanasia for animals held in animal shelters except for those that are diagnosed by veterinarians as suffering from an incurable or infectious disease, or posing hazards to human or animal health.15Legend symbol denoting The amended Animal Protection Act also includes provisions for: (a) enhancing pet-keeping standards; (b) regulating pet trading; (c) regulating pet food; and (d) protecting performing animals. The ban on euthanasia was put into effect in February 2017.16Legend symbol denoting COA had set a two-year transition period for the local governments to make the necessary arrangements for meeting the challenge of the "no-kill" policy, in light of the high variation in stray animal population, euthanization rates, and capacity and facility quality of the public animal shelters in different cities/counties. Some larger cities such as Taipei, New Taipei, Tainan and Kaohsiung had already attained a relatively lower euthanization rate at 10% or below in 2014 while some counties such as Pingtung and Nantou still maintained a high euthanization rate at 50% or above. See 動物保護資訊網(2020年).
Measures to support the implementation of the "no-kill" policy
- There have been concerns that the welfare of stray animals cannot be improved even after the ban on euthanasia if they are kept in congested and sub-standard animal shelters or left straying on the streets due to limited capacity of the animal shelters. To prepare for and support the implementation of the "no-kill" policy, COA and the local animal protection authorities have since 2014 stepped up their stray animal control and management efforts on various fronts as discussed below.17Legend symbol denoting See Council of Agriculture (2017), 行政院農業委員會：《因應動物收容處所停止人道處理之調整措施》(2016年) and 行政院農業委員會(2017年).
- In contrast to AMCs in Hong Kong, the public animal shelters in Taiwan provide adoption services and keep stray animals that are not reclaimed or adopted. Since 2014, COA has implemented a dedicated public animal shelter improvement plan (改善政府動物管制收容設施計劃) to upgrade the environment and facilities of the public animal shelters, increase their capacity, and build them as education centres for promoting animal welfare and animal adoption (動物生命教育園區). The manpower capacity and training of staff working in the public animal shelters have also been strengthened to cope with the expanded role and service demand of the animal shelters. Moreover, COA operates an online animal shelter management information system (全國動物收容管理系統) to provide latest information on the capacity status of the public animal shelters to help control the intake of animals and prevent overcrowding in the shelters.
- As for reducing stray animals at source, COA has imposed mandatory neutering for pet dogs and pet cats since 2015. Yet, pet owners who do not want to have their pets neutered can apply to the local animal protection authorities for an exemption. To encourage pet registration,18Legend symbol denoting Pet dog registration was introduced as a mandatory requirement in 1999. However, enforcement of the legal requirement has not been satisfactory due to pet owners' inertia to register their pet dogs and COA's lack of manpower to take enforcement action. See 行政院農業委員會：《動物福利白皮書》(2019年). neutering and prevent pet abandonment, local governments have worked with AWOs in the non-governmental sector to promote pet owner responsibility, and implement the pet registration, vaccination and neutering programme (寵物登記、狂犬病預防注射及犬貓絕育三合一計劃) under which subsidy is provided to pet owners who get their registered pets neutered. As for the neutering of stray animals, local governments have devised and implemented their individual dog population control programmes, with particular focus on rural areas with higher population of stray dogs. AWOs and veterinarians in the non-governmental and private sectors have heavily been involved in implementation of the neutering programme in rural areas which lack local resources.
- COA and the local animal protection authorities have actively promoted animal adoption to increase turnover of animals staying in animal shelters and to prevent congestion. COA has provided information of the stray animals through the online animal shelter management information system to facilitate matching with potential adopters. Individual cities/counties such as Taipei and New Taipei have also promoted animal adoption through measures such as: (a) expanding the adoption channels by setting up adoption areas (認養小棧) in pet shops or animal hospitals to enable more potential adopters to access the stray animals; (b) encouraging the adoption of stray dogs or cats with appropriate training as companion pets for students (伴讀犬) or guard dogs at schools (校犬), or companion pets for the elderly; and/or (c) offering free pet insurance coverage for stray animals aged three and above to cover their medical expenses so as to lower the barrier for adoption of older animals.
- In addition, COA has since 2020 provided subsidy to eligible animal shelters in the non-governmental sector that meet specific criteria to raise their capacity and quality to complement the services provided in the public sector so that more stray animals can be received.
- COA has allocated specific financial resources for implementing measures to support the "no-kill" policy. For example, it had allocated NT$1.54 billion (HK$394 million) between 2014 and 2019 under the dedicated public animal shelter improvement plan to support various improvement initiatives.19Legend symbol denoting See 行政院農業委員會：《「改善政府動物管制收容設施計畫」(公共建設 - 中長程計畫)第二次修正計畫書 - 自103至110日年度》(2019年). In addition, COA had committed NT$676 million (HK$178 million) between 2015 and 2018 under the plan to enhance animal protection in Taiwan (104至107年度加強動物保護行政效能計劃) to finance the relevant measures that supported the implementation of the "no-kill" policy.20Legend symbol denoting See 行政院農業委員會(2014年).
Observed outcomes
- Taiwan has achieved progress in its efforts to control stray animal at source. The latest figures available showed a visible increase in the registration rate of pet dogs from 52% in 2014 to 66% in 2018, and from 32% to 58% for pet cats during the same period. The number of animals neutered more than doubled from about 78 500 in 2014 to 183 400 in 2018. The public animal shelters recorded an increase in adoption rate from 58% in 2014 to 63% in 2019. They also attained an euthanization rate of 0.3% (amounting to 153 animals)21Legend symbol denoting The figure refers to the number of animals euthanized in compliance with the Animal Protection Act. in 2019, down from 26% (25 057 animals) in 2014.
- However, it is noteworthy that the number of animals admitted by the animal shelters decreased by about 50% from around 94 700 in 2014 to 48 200 in 2019. The decline was probably due to the increase in length of stay of the admitted animals after the implementation of the "no-kill" policy22Legend symbol denoting According to a survey conducted by COA in June 2018, 33% of the dogs in the public animal shelters had stayed for 12 months or above, and 20% for six to less than 12 months. See 行政院農業委員會：《推動友善動物保護計畫(109年至112年)(核定本)》(2019年). and the shortfall in the capability of animal shelters to take in more animals. Besides, COA has adjusted its capture policy for stray animals by focusing on the higher risk animals to reduce overcrowding in the animal shelters.
Issues of concern
- Amid the mixed results achieved, COA reveals that it has still been facing a number of challenges in delivering the goal of "no-kill" in public animal shelters. These include: (a) inadequate capacity of the public animal shelters; (b) delays in improvement works of public animal shelters, thwarting the efforts to promote animal welfare and adoption; (c) difficulty in further boosting the adoption rate, as targets of the capture policy for strays are likely those with aggressive temperament which are less preferred by adopters; and (d) reduction in the number of stray animals captured and related complaints resolved23Legend symbol denoting According to the latest figures available, around 58 000 reports about stray dogs were lodged to the local authorities in 2018, but only about 20 000 stray dogs were caught. leading to discontent among the public.24Legend symbol denoting See行政院農業委員會：《「改善政府動物管制收容設施計畫」(公共建設 - 中長程計畫)第二次修正計畫書 - 自103至110年度》(2019年)and行政院農業委員會：《動物福利白皮書》(2019年).
Recent developments
- To cope with the above challenges, COA has earmarked NT$558 million (HK$146 million) between 2020 and 2021 for supporting the continuous improvement of the public animal shelters. COA has further committed NT$863 million (HK$226 million) between 2020 and 2023 to enhancing the measures for supporting the "no-kill" policy including measures for reducing stray animals at source, promoting adoption by further diversifying the adoption channels and providing post-adoption follow-up services. Of the total budgeted amount, 15% was allocated on supporting the development of animal shelters in the non-governmental sector.
Concluding remarks
- While Hong Kong has maintained the practice of using euthanasia for animals in AMCs that are not reclaimed or rehomed, Taiwan has introduced the "no-kill" policy for stray animals kept in animal shelters as part of the efforts to improve animal welfare under its comprehensive animal welfare policy framework. Nevertheless, achieving "no-kill" of stray animals in animal shelters is a challenging task requiring coordinated efforts on multiple fronts to improve various aspects of stray animal control and management work. Indicative of this, the Taiwanese government has laid down detailed plans and committed increased resources on relevant measures to complement and support the delivery of the "no-kill" policy. These measures range from improving the capacity and quality of public animal shelters and reducing stray animals at source, to enhancing turnover of the public animal shelters by actively promoting animal adoption.
Prepared by Ivy CHENG
Research Office
Information Services Division
Legislative Council Secretariat
9 December 2020
Endnotes:
References:
| Hong Kong
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| 1. | Audit Commission. (2019) Report No. 73, Chapter 4 - Control of wild and stray animal nuisances.
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| 2. | Food and Health Bureau. (2017) Replies to initial written questions raised by Finance Committee Members in examining the Estimates of Expenditure 2017-18.
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| 3. | Food and Health Bureau. (2020) Replies to initial written questions raised by Finance Committee Members in examining the Estimates of Expenditure 2020-21.
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| 4. | Food and Health Bureau and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. (2017) Management of stray animals. LC Paper No. CB(2)1231/16-17(01).
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| 5. | Food and Health Bureau and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. (2018) Outcome of the "Trap-Neuter-Return" Trial Programme for Stray Dogs. LC Paper No. CB(2)1318/17-18(03).
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| 6. | GovHK. (2019a) LCQ11: Control of wild and stray animal nuisances.
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| 7. | GovHK. (2019b) LCQ17: Welfare of animals.
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| 8. | Legislative Council Secretariat. (2016) Report of the Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Animal Welfare and Cruelty to Animals. LC Paper No. CB(2)1704/15-16.
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| 9. | Legislative Council Secretariat. (2018) Report of the Subcommittee to Study Issues Relating to Animal Rights. LC Paper No. CB(2)689/17-18.
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| 10. | Legislative Council Secretariat. (2019) Stray animal control and treatment in selected places. LC Paper No. RT07/18-19.
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| 11. | 香港01：《【領養動物．二】政府花百萬人道毀滅 外判領養責任收容所缺支援》，2019年1月15日。
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| Taiwan
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| 12. | Council of Agriculture. (2017) Farewell to Killings: Taiwan Implements "No-kill" Policy on Shelter Animals.
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| 13. | Reuters. (2007) Taiwan hopes to muzzle stray dog problem in 10 years.
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| 14. | 中國時報：《新北動物零安樂死 認養冠全國》，2017年。
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| 17. | 全國動物收容管理系統：《動物收容統計表》，2020年。
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| 18. | 行政院農業委員會：《改善政府動物管制收容設施計畫(103至107年度)》，2013年。
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| 19. | 行政院農業委員會：《社會發展計畫 - 104至107年度加強動物保護行政效能計畫》，2014年。
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| 20. | 行政院農業委員會：《因應動物收容處所停止人道處理之調整措施》，2016年。
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| 21. | 行政院農業委員會：《動物收容所零撲殺 農委會全力協助地方落實》，2016年。
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| 22. | 行政院農業委員會：《105年年報 - 推動公立動物收容處所零撲殺》，2017年。
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| 23. | 行政院農業委員會：《「改善政府動物管制收容設施計畫」(公共建設 - 中長程計畫)第二次修正計畫書 - 自103至110年度》，2019年。
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| 24. | 行政院農業委員會：《動物福利白皮書》，2019年。
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| 25. | 行政院農業委員會：《推動友善動物保護計畫(109年至112年)》，2019年。
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| 26. | 行政院農業委員會：《推動友善動物保護計畫(109年至112年)(核定本)》，2019年。
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| 27. | 法務部全國法規資料庫：《動物保護法》，2018年。
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| 28. | 動物保護資訊網：《各縣市公立收容所處理統計表》，2020年。
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| 29. | 環境資訊中心：《動督盟：零撲殺實施周年 縣市首長表現成績如何？》，2018年。
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| 30. | 聯合新聞網：《「零撲殺」配套差 放寬設收容所挨批不治本》，2020年1月6日。
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| 31. | 關懷生命協會：《收容所為何成為流浪動物墳場 揭發⼗⼆夜⾼死亡背後真相記者會》，2014年。
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Essentials are compiled for Members and Committees of the Legislative Council. They are not legal or other professional advice and shall not be relied on as such. Essentials are subject to copyright owned by The Legislative Council Commission (The Commission). The Commission permits accurate reproduction of Essentials for non commercial use in a manner not adversely affecting the Legislative Council. Please refer to the Disclaimer and Copyright Notice on the Legislative Council website at www.legco.gov.hk for details. The paper number of this issue of Essentials is ISE10/20-21.