*Another piece of assignment that I wrote for a journalism course last semester*
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated,” Claudia Mo Man-ching, member of the Civic Party, delivered a quote by Mahatma Gandhi at the opening ceremony of a Sunday walkathon.
During a Legislative Council meeting earlier this year, Dr. York Chow, the Secretary for Food and Health, reported that the number of stray dogs and cats caught or received by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in 2009 was 15600. Over 85% of these animals were euthanized.
In response to animal rights and welfare issues in society, the Civic Party held a “You and I and Them Walk-the-Walk” walkathon for pet owners and their pets at the Peak on 14th November.
The aims of the walkathon were to arouse the public’s attention to animal welfare issues, and also raise funds for the Civic Party.
“The main themes of today’s fund-raising event are animal-friendly policies and animal rights.” said Leong Kah-kit, Internal Vice Chairman of the Civic Party.
In regards to the problem of stray animals being put to death, the Civic Party urges the government to implement the “Trap, Neuter and Release” (TNR) programme.
“It is a world-famous policy adopted by every civilized society. The current practice, which is to euthanize animals if they don’t get adopted within 4 days after they’ve been trapped, is not a way of respecting lives,” said Claudia Mo. “Stray dogs aren’t a great problem if they’re neutered. Give them a chance.”
Apart from the handling of stray animals, conflict between housing estates and pets is another animal right issue that arouses the Civic Party’s concern.
During the event, some participants expressed that they were forced to leave their house with their pets.
Grace Pang and her husband are former residents of The Pacifica. They have been living in the estate with their Pekingese in the past couple of years.
“When we first moved in, we were allowed to keep a dog,” said Grace. “However, recently we got a letter from the Management Service Center asking us to take away our dog within 14 days, or we’ll face a lawsuit.”
The couple eventually decided to sell their property and move away with their dog. They said they felt “helpless” towards the whole situation.
“We are just ordinary people… we really had no idea what to do or where to seek help from.” Grace expressed, after thanking the Civic Party for helping her voice her feelings through the event.
Stanley Cheung, Grace’s former neighbor at the Pacifica, also faced the same problem and made the same decision as Grace’s family. He thinks Civic Party’s walkathon helped soothe his hard feelings.
“This event helps the situation…” said Stanley. “It raises the public’s awareness of cases like ours.”
Regarding the cases brought up by the estate’s former residents, the Management Service Centre of The Pacifica says as a lot of details are still under investigation, they currently have no plans to comment on the matter.
The walkathon started at 3PM at Mount Austin Playground on the Peak and lasted for around two hours. The route passed by the Peak Galleria, Pokfulam Reservoir Road, Pokfulam Reservoir and finished at the Pokfulam PHAB camp. Helpers from the Civic Party estimated a total of 150 participants in the event.
According to Claudia Mo, there is no specific plan for the use of the funds raised by the walkathon. However, she added that the Civic Party would keep putting effort into protecting animal rights.
