Hongkongers caught feeding feral pigeons will no longer receive verbal warnings for breaking the law and will instead face on-the-spot fines of HK$5,000 (US$641) from Sunday.
Authorities said on Saturday that offenders would face immediate enforcement measures after the end of a one-month grace period.
“Starting from [Sunday], enforcement officers will take immediate enforcement action without prior verbal warnings upon discovering any person who is found to be illegally feeding wild animals or feral pigeons,” a spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said.
The government gazetted amendments to the Wildlife Protection Ordinance on August 1 to extend the current feeding bans to cover wild pigeons and introduce a HK$5,000 fixed penalty system.
Authorities will consider prosecutions, instead of the fine, in serious cases such as those involving repeated violations.
The maximum penalty for breaches has also been increased by 10 times to HK$100,000, with the addition of a one-year prison term.
Enforcement will be conducted by officers from the police force, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Housing Department.
Officers can require offenders to provide personal details, such as their name, address, contact number and proof of identity for inspection.
Authorities said public education had also been carried out through roving exhibitions, street booths, public talks and thematic websites to explain the impact of human feeding and to understand the reasons behind banning the feeding of wild pigeons.
The government has said that feeding the feral birds threatens their survival because it alters their foraging habits.
It also jeopardises their ability to survive on their own and increases the risk of disease and parasite transmission.
Authorities have also pointed to the negative impact of food and bird faeces in public places.
The city has 17 “black spots” where large gatherings of wild birds have raised environmental hygiene concerns, with Sham Shui Po being the most severe.
