Inspection & Quarantine
WORK OF THE INSPECTION AND QUARANTINE BRANCH
- To investigate and control outbreaks of animal diseases;
- To conduct livestock farm inspections;
- To provide veterinary diagnostic support and surveillance services for detecting diseases and drug residues in food animals;
- To regulate the importation of animals/plants and their products;
- To certify exportation of animals/plants and their products;
- To control and regulate the registration and sale of pesticides;
- To monitor and regulate the trade of animals; and
- To promote animal welfare and manage stray animals.
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. In total, 6,446 bird carcasses and 43,325 swab samples were collected for testing in 2014-15. In December 2014, a batch of live poultry imported from Guangdong was confirmed to be infected by H7 AI virus. As a result, about 19,000 birds imported were culled at the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market. The Government suspended the delivery of all live poultry to the market for 21 days.
Unauthorised keeping of backyard poultry (chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons and quails) is an offence with a maximum fine of $100,000. To enforce the ban, the departmental staff regularly patrolled villages in rural areas as well as conducted blitz operations during the year.
To enhance public awareness of the prevention of AI, promotional programmes were held during Mid-autumn Festival in 2014. They included paying visits to villages to disseminate messages about AI prevention, putting up posters onto village information boards 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.
The Department carries out regular inspection to local pig farms and provides professional advice to farmers in terms of farm management, biosecurity, disease prevention and proper usage of veterinary drugs.
During the year, the departmental staff conducted 2,635 inspections on livestock farms and quarantined 1,299 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. In 2014-15, over 10,500 requests were received for animal, bird and fish disease investigation. Also, over 246,000 and 116,000 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 2014-15, a total of 7,086 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 4,300 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 national plant protection organisation of the exporting territory. For importation of plant pests, an authorisation must be obtained in advance. A total of 2,327 import licences and authorisations were issued by the Department in 2014-15.
Statistics on plant import control and phytosanitary certification services are at Appendix 9.
CONTROL ON PESTICIDES
In view of the continuous concern about the safety of Diazinon and Paraquat, the Department cancelled the registration of these two pesticides in 2014 subsequent to the completion of a review. To ensure the safety of pesticide users and members of the 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. Besides assisting the industry and relevant government departments 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 agricultural practices. To enhance understanding of safe and proper use of domestic and agricultural pesticides, an education booth was set up at the FARMFEST 2015 and revoing exhibition were organised at lobbies of government offices. In cooperation with the Education Bureau, seminars were organised for school administrators and pesticide users while a new pamphlet titled "Use Pesticides Safely in Schools, Follow Precautionary Rules" was distributed in schools. 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 for sale, offer for sale or sell reproductive materials of the protected variety for a term of 20 or 25 years.
ANIMAL MANAGEMENT
The Department adopts various animal management measures to control animal diseases, regulate animal trading and promote animal welfare.
Rabies is controlled effectively in Hong Kong, without any case found since the 1980s. In 2014-15, some 63,400 new or renewed dog licences were issued after the dogs were vaccinated against rabies. During the year, about 5,400 dogs and 2,000 cats were caught, received or handled. About 980 animals, healthy and with good temperament, were re-homed through 14 partner animal welfare organisations.
The Department organised roving exhibitions with the theme “Vaccination, Licensing and Neutering” regularly in villages in the New Territories and on outlying islands to remind dog keepers that their dogs must be vaccinated against rabies, microchipped, and licensed once attaining the age of five months or above and re-vaccinated against rabies every three years to renew the licence. Neutering of pets and responsible pet ownership were also promoted. Among the 11 such roving exhibitions organised during the year, inoculation teams were deployed thrice to the villages on outlying islands to vaccinate villagers’ dogs, renew their dog licences and give advice on proper control of dogs.
Under the law, all animal traders are required to obtain Animal Trader Licences (ATLs) and should strictly observe the corresponding licensing conditions. Pet shops are required to obtain dogs for sale only from approved sources. The Department inspects these shops regularly to ensure that they do not contravene any of the licensing conditions. In 2014-15, some 440 ATLs were issued, covering the trade of dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, etc.
Together with the Food and Health Bureau, the Department launched a public consultation in 2012 on the proposed amendment to the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Animal Traders) Regulations (Cap 139B) to better regulate pet trading. More than 2,700 written submissions were received. The majority of the submissions supported the amendment to the Regulations, holding that the licensing of persons who breed and sell dogs has necessary. Drafting of the proposed amendments to the Regulations is underway.
Since 2011, the Department has been collaborating with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and other animal welfare organisations to implement a "Capture-Sterilise-Relocate" programme for stray cattle in Sai Kung and Lantau Island with a view to controlling the stray cattle population in the long run. This helped 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. Up to the end of 2014, a total of 299 cattle/buffalo were neutered and relocated.
The three-year Stray Dog “Trap-Neuter-Return” Trial Programme commenced during the year. The SPCA and Society for Abandoned Animals are the programme coordinators for the Cheung Chau Trial Zone and the Tai Tong Trial Zone respectively. They are responsible for carrying out the programme according to the operating procedures set with the Department. The Department is closely monitoring the progress and has commissioned an independent consultant to conduct regular reviews on the effectiveness of the programme during the trial period.
Statistics on animal control and management, and the relevant permits/licences issued are at Appendix 11.
ANIMAL WELFARE
To improve the handling of animal cruelty reports or complaints, an animal welfare task force involving the Department, other government departments and the SPCA was set up. The task force meets regularly and reviews the handling of animal cruelty cases to ensure that the welfare of animals involved is well protected.
The Department continued to promote animal welfare through public education and publicity campaigns. In collaboration with the Hong Kong Police Force and the SPCA, the Department organised a nine-day roving exhibition and set up a booth at adoption events to promote kindness to animals.
As a sequel of last year’s TV programme “Pets With Love”, the Department produced another 10-episode “Love Forever” for broadcast on buses, featuring tips for caring of pets and promotion of the adoption day and carnival held by the Department to promote rehoming of pets and Responsible Pet Ownership. During the year, the Department organised a wide range of activities, including “Love Forever” Photo/Video Competition, a large-scale two-day carnival, an animal adoption day, three dog training courses, 43 seminars at schools and estates, 37 roving exhibitions and three roving events at pet gardens. The Department also joined SPCA to organise the “Hong Kong Originals” publicity campaign for the promotion of adoption of mongrels.
Six educational videos about the Dos and Don’ts for handling dogs in public places, “Pets With Love” TV programme as well as the final and winning entries of the “Love Forever” Photo/Video Competition have been added to the YouTube Channel “AFCD Animal Management”. Videos promoting the events organised by the Department, those capturing event highlight, Announcements in the Public Interest and more are also available on the Channel.
The Department advertises on various media platforms, including websites and bus body, to promote animal welfare, related legal requirements and measures. During the year, a new poster “Dos and Don’ts for handling dogs in public places” and two new leaflets “Neuter your pet now” and “Control your dogs properly” were produced.
The Department has made available digital photo frames loaded with Announcements in the Public Interest and educational videos for estate management offices to borrow and show at places like lobby, reception, clubhouse, etc. Game booths were lent to events of other organisations for the promotion of responsible pet ownership. Copies of an educational DVD in six languages were provided to domestic helper agencies to help disseminate the dos and don’ts for handling dogs in public places to domestic helpers. Besides, five roving exhibitions targeting domestic helpers were held.
The Department collaborates with partnering Animal Welfare Organisations (AWOs) in promoting animal welfare and rehoming animals. Free de-sexing services for rehomed animals are provided through these AWOs. The Department also provides financial assistance for AWOs to organise relevant educational and promotional programmes. In this regard, the Department has set aside $1.5 million for application by AWOs in 2014-15 for the enhancement of animal management and promotion of animal welfare.