Ensuring dogs are licensed is crucial as eateries prepare to host them
The AFCD’s recent actions to make sure owners have vaccinated and licensed their dogs is essential to upholding public safety and animal welfare
For customers without dogs, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has published guidelines on good behaviour to maintain “mutual respect and harmony”.
They range from not feeding other customers’ dogs or photographing or petting them without permission to storing personal belongings and handbags properly to prevent damage from dogs, reporting to restaurant staff first if a dog is causing disturbance or inconvenience, and what to do in the event of being bitten.
That said, the paramount and fundamental requirements of dog owners, whether they take them to dinner or not, are licensing and vaccination. There is a need to keep pace with best modern practices in local conditions.
Owners of unlicensed dogs will be prosecuted without warning and face a maximum fine of HK$10,000 (US$1,300). All dogs over five months must be licensed, and relicensed and revaccinated against rabies every three years.