Coronavirus: Hong Kong health minister dismisses concerns over toughened law for pet owners who refuse to give up animals for disease-control purposes
- Sophia Chan says aim of amendment is to control disease should evidence exist suggesting animal-to-human transmission has taken place
- Under revised law, owners who refuse order face fines of up to HK$10,000 and six months’ jail
Hong Kong’s health minister has dismissed concerns over a toughened law that jails pet owners who refuse to surrender their animals for disease-control purposes.
But Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee admitted on Saturday that the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) should more clearly explain the amendment to the law that gives health officers the power to demand owners hand over the animals.
When asked on a radio programme about concerns that authorities would also order infected owners to surrender their pets, Chan said the aim of the amendment was to control disease should evidence exist suggesting animal-to-human transmission had taken place.
“You don’t have to worry too much, because even if we have coronavirus disease, the AFCD takes good care of pets like cats and dogs. Whether it is isolation measures or the overall situation of the amendment, the AFCD may need to make it clearer,” Chan told a radio programme.
The revised Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance specifies that pet owners who refuse the order face a maximum HK$10,000 (US$1,275) fine and six months’ jail.
The amendment, which came into effect on March 31, has alarmed some animal rights activists after it was revealed on April 6 in a written response from Chan to lawmaker Cheung Kwok-kwan, who raised questions about authorities’ lack of power to ask owners to surrender their pets during an outbreak of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
