On 14 February, 29 animals, including cats, rabbits, mice and birds, were thrown from a high-rise building in Sham Tsang. 15 of them died immediately, and 3 more were certified dead after being sent to the hospital. A man admitted guilty of animal cruelty a few days later. The police further arrested another man with the same charge.

After a six-month investigation, the police announced on 2 September, that they had completed the investigation, but the Department of Justice decided not to press any prosecutions. World Dog Alliance has strong discontent with this decision.

This is obviously not an accident to have a few tens of animals fallen from a high-rise building at the same time. It is very possible to be animal cruelty done by humans. The police arrested two men promptly. One of them has already admitted his guilt. World Dog Alliance finds DoJ’s decision unreasonable.

People in Hong Kong love animals. More than ten innocent animals lost their lives in this incident. However, their justice cannot be upheld without any trials. We share people’s concerns and the view that “people can walk free with animal cruelty”, which will strongly damage people’s confidence on Hong Kong Judiciary.

World Dog Alliance has been raising awareness on companion animals’ rights worldwide recently. China and the US have implemented policies and laws on banning dog and cat meat consumption, which have created a trend of animal protection. In comparison, there is only Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance in Hong Kong. The Ordinance is outdated with no amendments for more than 10 years. Hong Kong fails to follow the trend in China and the international world. This incident highlights our loopholes in this area.

Therefore, World Dog Alliance strongly calls for a reconsideration from Department of Justice. Putting this case on court could cement that Hong Kong has no tolerance on animal cruelty. We also urge the Hong Kong Government to implement a more effective legislation on animal protection by giving harsher punishments to animal cruelty, so as to eradicate such cases in Hong Kong.