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Microchips for dogs and fees for dog licences
Dogs will have to be implanted with a microchip and fees will be charged for dog licences if proposals gazetted by the Government last Friday (September 27) are enacted.
The Rabies (Amendment) Regulation 1996 proposes that all dogs over the age of five months should be implanted with a microchip identifying the dog with a unique number, when it is first licensed or its licence next becomes due for renewal.
A spokesman for the Economic Services Branch said: "It is important for rabies control and public safety to reduce the number of abandoned and stray dogs. The microchip licensing system will allow dog keepers to be easily identified and made responsible for their animals."
A spokesman for the Agriculture and Fisheries Department said microchip implantation was a good licensing system because it was accurate, permanent, tamper- proof. It is quick to administer and causes only mild discomfort at the time of implantation.
"The microchip will be implanted beneath the loose skin on the back of the dog's neck. It is encoded with a number which can be read by a special scanner and fed into a computer to retrieve information stored at the time of vaccination and licensing, details of the dog's rabies vaccination history and the keeper's name and address," the spokesman said.
The proposed regulation requires the keeper of a dog that has been vaccinated against rabies to ensure that the dog is microchipped. Failure to do so will constitute an offence and render the keeper liable to a fine of $10,000.
The proposed regulation also introduces fees for dog licences, which are currently issued free of charge.
"Licences have been issued free in the past as an incentive to the public to comply with rabies control requirements. Rabies vaccine has also been issued free of charge to persons authorised to vaccinate dogs against rabies," the spokesman said.
"The rabies vaccination rate for dogs in Hong Kong is now about 78 per cent, exceeding the World Health Organisation's recommended minimum of 70 per cent. There is no longer any need for taxpayers to continue subsidising dog owners in respect of vaccination and licensing."