Letters | Pets or no pets, may different lifestyles coexist calmly

The government’s newly announced plan to allow dogs in approved restaurants marks a meaningful shift: “pet-friendly” is going from a slogan to a workable public policy. Done well, this can widen consumer choice, support businesses seeking a new clientele, and reflect the reality that pet ownership has become part of daily life for many Hong Kong households.

Importantly, the scheme is not a blanket opening. A first phase capped at 500 to 1,000 licences, a fee of HK$140, and allocation by lottery if the scheme is oversubscribed are attempts to keep the roll-out orderly. The planned timeline – legislative amendments in the first quarter, applications by May, and approval around midyear – also provides a predictable path for operators and regulators.

What deserves equal emphasis is protection for non-pet owners. Requiring approved restaurants to display prominent entrance signage is a simple but crucial mechanism: diners can decide whether to enter, instead of discovering the pet-friendly policy after being seated. Clear boundaries also matter. Guidelines like no dogs on dining tables, no use of reusable restaurant tableware for dogs and no preparation of dog food in the restaurant help address hygiene concerns. Excluding hotpot and barbecue restaurants and prohibiting tabletop cooking or reheating in approved venues further reduces risk.

To ensure the policy earns public trust, enforcement must be as visible as the scheme itself. The government and industry should standardise signage, publish operational guidance in plain language, train frontline staff in conflict handling and establish a transparent complaint-and-inspection mechanism with meaningful penalties for repeated breaches. Restaurants should also be encouraged to manage seating layouts, traffic flow, ventilation and cleaning schedules in a way that is auditable – not merely aspirational.