The new dogs from AFCD arrived today, with mixed breed Mark and German shepherd Mona going to our Tai Po Homing Centre while the two poodle boys, Linus and Titus, are now at Ap Lei Chau. They will all be sent to have a health check and vaccination, and very importantly a heartworm test. As the dogs came from the Sheung Shui Animal Management Centre and heartworm is so common in the New Territories we have come to expect that most adults will test positive.
The eight babies were picked up in pairs by their respective foster parents, and for Gail and Gussie they came via Ap Lei Chau and had a quick feed before leaving. Everyone asks how big puppies will grow to be as adults and the answer is always that we have no idea. However judging from the sizes of these two babies in their shoebox, the boy Gussie is considerably smaller than his sister Gail so we can assume that he will still be smaller when grown. 
The following Press Statement is from the SPCA on a horrific cruelty case, and the lack of any successful outcome in terms of punishment for the perpetrator of these crimes. Once again the animals have been let down by the pathetic and outdated justice (hah!) system in Hong Kong and the lack of any deterrent sentencing for cruelty towards them. The frustration felt by all Animal NGOs is widespread, and it boils over into anger when something like this happens. The Department of Justice (www.doj.gov.hk) seems to be more interested in prosecuting people for jaywalking or not wearing a facemask while hiking than for real crimes like these. The person who carried out such barbaric cruelty is a psychopath who needs to be locked up to keep animals and humans safe, because as is well-known sadistic murderers always start by torturing helpless animals. Time and time again such crimes against animals have failed to result in successful prosecution and it's time for a change.
SPCA’s press statement relating to the case of injured and dead animals found in Tsing Lung Tau
February 14 of this year, the SPCA assisted at the request of the police on the discovery of animal carcasses in Tsing Lung Tau. On that day, the Society’s inspectors found 15 animal carcasses scattered on the hillside outside a housing estate in Tsing Lung Tau. A total of 15 surviving animals were found nearby on the same day and over the course of the following two weeks, although 3 of them subsequently died at the Society’s veterinary hospital as a result of serious injuries inflicted. The tragedy claimed the lives of 18 and resulted in the extreme suffering of 12 animals. The Society feels extremely sad, angry and disappointed that no one has been held accountable for this incident of extreme cruelty.
We believe that the animals concerned would never have sought death, and they definitely without a shadow of a doubt would not have had the ability to collectively end their lives on that stormy night. Furthermore, we also believe that the animals concerned were owned, together with the fact that they were all found in a residential area points a high level of suspicion towards foul play.
The Society was extremely concerned about the case, and performed several follow up visits after February 14 in case there were still surviving animals. In fact, we discovered and rescued 5 more animals on the hillside on February 15, 16 and 27. During the subsequent six-month investigation, we submitted multiple veterinary reports to the police, stating that the likely cause of the death and injury to these animals could be due to falling from a height. We also reported the physical and mental injuries of the surviving animals to the relevant law enforcement agencies, expecting that this important and relevant information could assist the police in prosecuting the persons involved. We had always hoped the case and the facts would be put before the court, and the case could be heard and decided on by a magistrate. We are therefore extremely upset with the current outcome.
In the past six months, the Society has done everything in its power, but despite all efforts justice has not been served for these innocent victims. We feel extremely angry, regretful, and disappointed! Do Hong Kong’s laws and prosecution procedures designed to prevent animal abuse need to be reviewed? Do the current laws governing microchip implantation need to be expanded to cats and other small animals to ensure that owners can be identified and held responsible? In the past few years, only some of the suspected animal abuse cases handled by the Society were prosecuted in the end, with the others left unattended for various reasons. Regretfully the Tsing Lung Tau case was eventually deemed unfit for prosecution, but the Society cannot just standby and ignore this outcome. We will meet with relevant law enforcement agencies on this matter to express our views, and strongly lobby for improvements. Among our requests will be the increasing of the time bar (currently 6 months) for cases of this kind to enable the authorities to thoroughly investigate these complex issues. We hope that all cases of cruelty to animals will be adequately followed up, and those who commit animal cruelty will get the punishment they deserve, and justice can be sought for all animals who have suffered at the hands of humans.
The Society has been notified by the police that the 12 surviving animals in our care have been classified as animals whose owners cannot be identified, and as such we are in the process of arranging for these survivors to be rehomed. Currently these animals are being cared for by our dedicated veterinary team, who in addition to supporting their physical recovery are also helping them overcome their psychological trauma. Among them, some animals are obviously still wary of humans, and our caring staff will be spending extra time with them to enable them to gradually regain their trust in humans. We will accompany these animals along their path of recovery until we succeed in finding family members who truly love them and the forever happy home they all truly deserve.
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