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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

perseverance of our own staff in taking action against owners who permit the HUANG through you, first of all, in paragraph 3, it said that it is reasonable to destruction of stray dogs by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department and MRS. Margaret Li (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask Dr. animals to foul the streets, the number of complaints on this subject has no fallen to about 1 or 2 each month; compared with about 14 a month in 1979.

The situation has evidently improved substantially from what it was before, as the Department will continue to keep up its law enforcement and public DR. Denny Huang (in Cantonese):-Well, the main reason for the decline of momentum in order to prevent the problem from deteriorating in the future.

dog population was that many people were afraid of keeping dogs ever since The question also refers to certain specific supplementary points related. rabies scare broke out. The figure for killing dogs has remained quite stable, so people are rather afraid of contracting rabies and of course the Agriculture and Fisheries Department staff picked off stray dogs on a regular basis and has believe that the dog population is on the decrease, were there any figures and where have Dr. HUANG got the information from?

fouling of streets by dogs.

The Department monitors the problem of fouling of streets essentially; stepped up action especially since the rabies outbreak.

on the

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noting the numbers, type and characteristics of complaints received subject, and by ensuring that views of Cleansing staff on the subject are available to the Department as required. It is clear that there is no widespread feeling of dissatisfaction with present policies or practices. Certainly, if the number of complaints were to rise, or if the complaints received showed some particular blackspot areas, then departmental operational priorities would be reviewed in an appropriate fashion.

There are no accurate statistics on the canine population available. I understand that just over 30,000 dog licences, each valid for three years, are issued annually by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department; approximately 11,000 stray dogs are destroyed each year. We certainly have no statistics requested by Mrs. LI on the weight of dog excreta neither in total terms, nor collected from streets or dog latrines. Dog excreta collected by Cleansing staff is swept up with all other types of street refuse and is not kept separate for separate handling or weighing. Obviously, it would be quite impractical and quite unnecessary to do so.

Broadly speaking, dog excrement may carry disease germs as any other animal's wastes. It is common sense to treat all animal excrement as a potential health hazard. It should, however, be stressed that dog excrement is not a substantial public health risk in Hong Kong at the present. A territory-wide blitz operation is going to be conducted this summer, and education pamphlets will include an element of warning on the potential health risks posed by dogs fouling streets. So doggies and dog-owners beware!

Departmental costs for cleaning streets fouled by dogs cannot be separately quantified as this task is merely a very minor part of general street-cleansing duties as I have indicated. It is believed that the costs, if quantified, would prove to be very low. The suggestion that they be recovered, presumably from the dog licence fees, has been noted. But I would like to add to the reply that dog licences are issued by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department and the Council will not benefit from any increase in the licence fees.

MRS. MARGARET LI (in Cantonese):-In other words, Mr. Chairman, that is by reasoning rather than by data. Now, it is mentioned that some of the dog owners clear out the mess themselves, what about if the owners throw the remains down the rubbish bins, is that a proper way to handle it?

DR. DENNY HUANG (in Cantonese):-Well, Mr. Chairman, we have not got concrete figures, I admit, but I am sure members will agree that neither do we have absolutely accurate figures for human population, let alone other types of animal. But ever since the Clean Hong Kong Campaign in 1972, I have seen many dog owners or their maids who follow their dogs with a piece of paper in their hands and they clear up the mess afterwards. (laughter) It is rather a rare occasion and good training is necessary. As to the question whether it is appropriate to throw the mess into the rubbish bins, that would have to be taken up at the committee level. (laughter)

MRS. MARGARET LI (in Cantonese):-My last question, Mr. Chairman, dog excreta can be wrapped up, but what about urine? There is no way for you to contain it, but according to the regulations, dog urine could also result in prosecution.

DR. DENNY HUANG (in Cantonese):-Well, thanks to God, the urine usually evaporates very quickly after it is deposited and the smell is not as foul, and the problem is not yet too serious to control. (laughter)

Vice-chairman (in English):-Well, Mr. Chairman, as you obviously are in a very expansive mood as a result of an expensive lunch I suspect, could I ask a related supplementary? As a grandfather with two toddlers, I frequently take them to parks, and I would like to think that the chairman of the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee with his colleagues, the Recreation Select Committee, will take some action to inhibit dog owners from making parks into dog latrines, particularly when we have at great expense provided latrines at the entrance to parks. So during the coming blitz, I would like to have assurances on that aspect of the campaign being taken care of.

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