Puppy's death sparks calls for Hong Kong to quickly tighten animal cruelty laws
pets makes such practices difficult to phase out, experts have said.
The calls for urgent amendments to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance on Monday followed the death last week of a two-month-old female Doberman puppy from infections caused by ear cropping.
The puppy was found abandoned in Cherry Street Park near Yau Ma Tei with 8cm (3 inch) incisions in its ears, which had been poorly stitched and glued to a paper cup to keep them upright.
Mark Mak Chi-ho, founder of the non-profit-making Veterinary Services Society, said ear clipping and tail docking were still very common in Hong Kong.
Historically, ear cropping was done in some working dog breeds to prevent injury.
But nowadays, owners subjected Dobermans, which have naturally floppy ears, to ear cropping for aesthetic purposes, Mak said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
38 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
How traditional Chinese medicine can help you lose weight, from acupuncture to cupping
When Huang Yu needed to lose weight urgently for medical reasons, she turned to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). With it, she lost five kilograms (11 pounds) over three months, and she has kept it off since. Advertisement In January 2024, the 21-year-old from Shanghai, who is studying at a university in Hong Kong, learned she had a tumour on her uterus. This slowed her metabolism, and she eventually tipped the scales at 75kg. If she did not lose weight, her Western doctor told her, the condition would be difficult to treat. He prescribed medication with hormones that helped boost her metabolism, but it left her feeling weak as she started having heavier menstrual periods. 'I had to spare no effort trying different weight-loss methods,' Huang said. Traditional Chinese medicine can complement Western treatments to help an overweight patient lose weight. Photo: Shutterstock She first tried intermittent fasting , slowly narrowing the window of time in which she ate during the day. However, she did not lose much weight this way, and fasting left her feeling woozy, especially after her physical education classes at school. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
China toughens import rules on Vietnamese durians after detecting health risks
Chinese authorities have tightened oversight of imported Vietnamese durians this year after finding 'excessive levels' of two potentially harmful substances in the popular, high-value fruit. The General Administration of Customs of China now requires enhanced pre-export safety checks and compliance testing before shipments leave the source country, with 'qualified' test reports to be attached to durians, a customs official told the Post, requesting anonymity due to internal rules. She said the administration had intensified testing for the organic compound alkaline yellow and the metal cadmium in Vietnamese durians, after discovering concentrations that 'seriously endangered the health of domestic consumers' at the start of 2025. 'In order to effectively prevent food safety risks, the General Administration of Customs immediately took action.' Under the stricter rules, Vietnamese durians are subject to 'batch by batch' testing – with any unqualified fruits returned or destroyed. Exporters are in turn suspended from shipping the fruit to China, she said. Fresh durian shipments from Vietnam fell by about 45 per cent year-on-year from January to June in value terms, customs data showed. Vietnam's shipments totalled US$611.5 million over the first half of 2025.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Food recovery in Hong Kong should be seen as infrastructure, not charity
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@ or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Recognising food recovery as essential urban infrastructure is key to sustainable waste management and social support. We strongly urge the Hong Kong government to provide stable, long-term funding for NGOs, legislate liability exemptions to protect food donors, introduce meaningful tax incentives and promote proactive cross-departmental collaboration. Food surplus and waste management are not solely environmental issues but intersect with social welfare and public health concerns. Only through an integrated approach will Hong Kong develop a coordinated, efficient and resilient food recovery system citywide. Since 2009, food sharing projects have rescued over 11,000 tonnes of surplus food, benefiting close to 10 million vulnerable individuals. A 2024 survey of 307 beneficiaries, mostly elderly, found 84 per cent reporting improved health and 92 per cent experiencing financial relief; many respondents were managing chronic illnesses that required specialised high-fibre, low-salt diets. Despite the clear social, environmental and economic benefits of food recovery, NGOs face escalating challenges including limited funding, complicated logistics and administrative burdens. Many food businesses often find donation more costly and complicated than disposal and consequently, perfectly edible food goes to landfills rather than to people in need. International examples – from France and South Korea to Singapore – demonstrate that robust government policies and incentives, not charity alone, are crucial to scaling sustainable food waste reduction. Such policies may enable better resource allocation, reduce the pressure on landfill and improve community nutrition.
