Hong Kong must tighten animal cruelty laws to prevent more dogs from being mutilated and dying while consumer demand for cropped tails and ears in pets makes such practices difficult to phase out, experts have said.
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The calls for urgent amendments to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance on Monday followed the death last week of a two-month-old female Doberman puppy from infections caused by ear cropping.
The puppy was found abandoned in Cherry Street Park near Yau Ma Tei with 8cm (3 inch) incisions in its ears, which had been poorly stitched and glued to a paper cup to keep them upright.
Mark Mak Chi-ho, founder of the non-profit-making Veterinary Services Society, said ear clipping and tail docking were still very common in Hong Kong.
Historically, ear cropping was done in some working dog breeds to prevent injury.
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But nowadays, owners subjected Dobermans, which have naturally floppy ears, to ear cropping for aesthetic purposes, Mak said.