Inspection and Quarantine

WORK OF THE INSPECTION AND QUARANTINE BRANCH

PREVENTION OF AVIAN INFLUENZA

To safeguard the population against Avian Influenza (AI), the Department continued its year-round programme to monitor and screen for the presence of the virus at various sites considered to be at risk, including poultry farms, the wholesale poultry market, pet bird shops, recreational parks and nature reserves. Dead birds were collected and tested on a daily basis. Of the 6,107 bird carcasses and 46,173 swab samples collected in 2011-12 for testing, 20 wild birds were confirmed to be H5N1 infected.

More than 19,000 birds at the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market were culled in December 2011 after a chicken carcass there was found to have the H5N1 virus. The Government suspended the delivery of all live poultry to the market for 21 days as a result.

Unauthorised keeping of backyard poultry (chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons and quails) is an offence with a maximum fine of up to $100,000. To enforce the ban, the Departmental staff regularly patrolled villages in rural areas as well as conducted blitz operations during the year. An offender was prosecuted for illegal keeping of 30 chickens and one pigeon.

To enhance public awareness of the prevention of AI, promotional programmes were held during Mid-autumn Festival 2011 and before Lunar New Year 2012. They included paying visits to villages to disseminate messages about AI prevention, putting up of posters onto the village information boards, conducting seminars for primary school students and distributing leaflets and souvenirs to members of the public.

All imported pet birds entering Hong Kong have to be tested for AI before being released to their importers.

LIVESTOCK FARM INSPECTIONS

To protect the general population from AI, the Department has imposed stringent biosecurity requirements on local poultry farms in addition to the obligatory AI vaccination programme. Every batch of local farm chickens must pass the AI test before they are allowed to be sold in markets for consumption.

During the year, AFCD staff conducted 2,831 livestock farms and quarantined 1,288 pigs imported for breeding purposes.

VETERINARY LABORATORY

Tai Lung Veterinary Laboratory provides veterinary diagnostic support services including testing of animal pathogens and chemical residues in pre-slaughter food animals, etc. During the year, over 8,300 requests were received for animal, bird and fish disease investigation. Over 262,200 and 125,100 tests for AI and chemical residues were conducted respectively.

ANIMAL AND PLANT QUARANTINE CONTROL

As the animal import and export control authority in Hong Kong, the Department is responsible for ensuring that all cross-border animal movements are closely monitored to prevent the introduction of animal diseases into Hong Kong.

Special permits issued by the Department are required for the import of live animals and birds in accordance with the Public Health (Animals and Birds) Ordinance (Cap 139) and the Rabies Ordinance (Cap 421). Importing animals and birds without a special permit is liable to prosecution. In 2011-12, a total of 6,055 permits were issued for the import/transit of live animals and birds.

To comply with the import requirements of destination places, the Department issues Animal Health Certificates to facilitate the export of animals and birds. A total of 3,677 applications were processed by the Department during the year.

To strengthen the efforts to prevent illegal importation of animals and to safeguard public health, the Quarantine Detector Dog (QDD) Programme commenced operation in February 2008 and QDDs are now deployed at various boundary control points including Lok Ma Chau, Shenzhen Bay and the Hong Kong International Airport.

Under the Plant (Importation and Pest Control) Ordinance (Cap 207), any plant imported into Hong Kong must be accompanied by a Plant Import Licence issued by the Department and a valid Phytosanitary Certificate issued by the competent authority in the place of its origin. For importation of insect pests, an authorisation should be obtained in advance. A total of 1,735 import licences and authorisations were issued by the Department in 2011-12.

Statistics on plant import control and phytosanitary certification services are at Appendix 9.

CONTROL ON PESTICIDES

Endosulfan and Alachlor have been listed under the Rotterdam Convention since 2011. To fulfill the Convention's requirements, AFCD initiated a review of the registration statuses of the two pesticides under the Pesticides Ordinance (Cap 133) and consulted the industry about cancelling the registration of the two pesticides in mid-2011. After collecting and analysing the views, the Department proposed the cancellation of the registration of the two pesticides starting December 2012. To ensure the safety of the users and public, the Department will continue to closely monitor the international regulation of pesticides and regularly review the registration of local pesticides.

The Department is committed to promoting the safe use of pesticides in different sectors. The Department encourages and assists the industry to develop or update the code of practice on pesticide use. The Department also offers technical seminars to farmers on a regular basis to promote the use of good agriculture practices. For domestic pesticide users, a new set of publicity materials and guidelines on the safe use and proper labelling of pesticides were produced and distributed. Relevant information and guidelines are available on the Department's website.

Statistics on pesticide control are at Appendix 10.

PLANT VARIETIES PROTECTION

The Plant Varieties Protection Ordinance (Cap 490) provides plant breeders (or the owners of the variety) with legal means to apply for proprietary rights over cultivated plant varieties they bred and developed. Grantees are given the exclusive rights to import, export, produce and sell reproductive materials of the protected variety for a term of 20 or 25 years.

ANIMAL MANAGEMENT

AFCD adopts various animal management measures to control animal diseases, regulate animal trading and promote animal welfare.

Rabies is controlled effectively in Hong Kong. No rabies case has been found in Hong Kong since the 1980s. In 2011-12, some 65,700 dogs were licensed and vaccinated against rabies. About 9,100 dogs and 3,900 cats were caught, received or handled during the year. Healthy animals with good temperament would be selected for re-homing. About 920 animals were re-homed through 13 partner animal welfare organisations.

Under the law, all animal traders are required to obtain Animal Trader Licences (ATLs) issued by the Department and should strictly observe the corresponding licensing conditions. Pet shops are required to obtain dogs for sale only from approved sources. AFCD inspects these shops regularly to ensure that they do not contravene any of the licensing conditions. In 2011-12, some 440 ATLs were issued, covering the trade of dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, etc.

The Department has been collaborating with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and other interested animal welfare organisations to implement a "Trap-Neuter-Relocation" pilot programme for stray cattle in Sai Kung and Lantau Island with a view to controlling the stray cattle population in the long run. This will help minimise the nuisance and danger potentially caused by stray cattle to the public while at the same time safeguard the welfare of the stray cattle. A total of 90 cattle/buffalo, including 23 from Lantau Island, were neutered and released to suitable locations during the year. A new team has been established to perform cattle neutering and handle cattle-related complaints in a timely manner.

Statistics on animal control and management, and the relevant permits/licences issued are at Appendix 11.

ANIMAL WELFARE

The Department promotes kindness to animals through its continued public education and publicity campaigns.

To educate the public on responsible pet ownership, raise their awareness of animal welfare and to further promote re-homing of pets, 17 school seminars, 10 estate seminars, 2 dog obedience training courses, 11 roving exhibitions, 4 shopping arcade events, 3 competitions, 1 carnival and various joint educational programmes with other organisations were held in 2011-12.

During the year, advertisements promoting animal welfare were placed in different media and public transport system. New leaflets were produced and distributed to the public. Seasonal e-cards for Christmas, Chinese New Year and Easter were also made to remind the public not to buy pets as gifts and to promote animal adoption.

To improve the handling of animal cruelty reports or complaints, an animal welfare task force involving the AFCD, SPCA as well as other government departments was set up to enable better inter-departmental coordination and support for animal cruelty cases. The task force will meet regularly to review the handling of animal cruelty cases, devise guidelines for each department to improve efficiency and ensure that the welfare of animals involved in these cases is well protected.

The Department has strengthened collaborations with and support to its partner organisations in re-homing animals, including inviting more animal welfare organisations to partner with the AFCD and providing free de-sexing services for animals re-homed through the partner organisations.

Recognising that most of animal welfare organisations are non-profit making with limited resources, the Department has been providing appropriate financial assistance to animal welfare organisations in organising such activities through government subvention or assisting them to apply for funds under the Sir Robert Ho Tung Charitable Fund. In this regard, the AFCD has additionally set aside $1 million for application by animal welfare organisations in 2011-12 for the enhancement of animal management and promotion of animal welfare.