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All this should improve considerably the conditions under which such animals are kept. The Hong Kong Government intend to enforce the regulations strictly and have recently instituted daily inspections of the main traders to ensure that the physical state of the imported animals is satisfactory and that the conditions in which they are kept are up to standard. The Government are also increasing their direct effort to inspect restaurant premises to
detect and prevent cruelty to animals. D
The effectiveness of any measures in this field will of course depend, as elsewhere, in the degree of public co-operation which is forthcoming. But I think that all this indicates that the Hong Kong Government are well aware of the problems and have been taking prompt measures deal with them.
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A L Wotton
Hong Kong& Indian Ocean Department