Sarah Karacs
South China Morning Post
19 July 2015
It was a dog's life and worse for Cooper until he was rescued by an animal welfare activist and adopted by a loving couple in Pok Fu Lam. The five-year-old crossbreed between an English sheepdog and husky is unrecognisable now compared to the abused and wretched animal he once was when caged and forced to mate without respite in a backstreet facility in the NewTerritories.
The common and largely ignored plight of dogs like Cooper is currently a subject of debate as the Hong Kong government puts the finishing touches on an amendment to the animal trading law that will be put to the Legislative Council after its summer break.
Under the new legislation, all dog breeders in the city will face inspections to make them more accountable for the animals in their care...
Breeding facilities like these are not uncommon in Hong Kong, a city in which loopholes in animal trading legislation and lax enforcement allow unscrupulous breeders to churn out pedigree pups in the cruellest of conditions.
"Breeders are interested in making money. Breeders are not interested in animal welfare," said Amanda Whitfort, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong who is pushing to have the city's animal welfare laws updated. "They will keep the animals in cages, stacked one on top of another, usually in small flats with no opportunity to exercise. They'll be sitting in their own excrement."... Click here to read the full article.
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