A shorter quarantine period for pet dogs and cats coming into Hong Kong may reduce demand for smuggling across the border, an expert and lawmaker have said, respectively calling for a reduction from four months to one or waiving the rule for vaccinated animals.
Environmental authorities earlier said they were in the final stages of a study on reducing the current 120-day quarantine period for pet dogs and cats from locations considered to be high risk for rabies, such as mainland China, Macau, Malaysia or Thailand.
Lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon described the current policy as “outdated” and said the review could ensure some pet owners faced “one less hurdle” when thinking about working in Hong Kong.
“Owners can’t afford to part with their pets for that long,” she said. “Just imagine leaving your children in quarantine for four months. Would you be OK with that?”
Kong, a lawyer, said a possible reduction would ensure a lower entry threshold that could potentially reduce demand for cross-border pet smuggling.
“The unreasonably long time and high cost are a recipe for a black market. That applies to everything,” she said.
The Post found dozens of accounts on mainland social media platforms that claimed they could transport pets to Hong Kong from cities such as Shenzhen, with some saying they would deliver the animals in two hours or more.
At least five couriers said they would transport pets in private cars and promised to avoid harmful practices such as cramming animals in backpacks or drugging them during delivery.
Hong Kong has one of the world’s strictest quarantine regimes for pet cats and dogs, resulting in no local animal cases of rabies being recorded since 1987.
Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said last Wednesday that the 120-day quarantine period was necessary in the past because of the disease’s months-long incubation period, adding nearly 60,000 people around the world died from rabies each year.
Given the recent advances in biotechnology, authorities were exploring reducing the requirement for pets from high-risk locations, he added.
“We will next explore the implementation details, including discussing arrangements with places concerned, with the aim of rolling out the testing arrangements as soon as possible,” Tse said.
Dirk Pfeiffer, a professor of veterinary medicine at City University, said the proposed reduction would not increase the risk of introducing rabies to Hong Kong, and would reduce the likelihood of smuggling instead.
“A shorter quarantine period will be required that animal owners will be more likely to accept,” he said. “It is time to change.”
Pfeiffer added that the proposal was based on a structured scientific risk assessment, and suggested shortening the quarantine to 30 days.
“It has been good to monitor the impact of changes in other countries and regions for a while and then propose the change,” he said.
The 120-day quarantine at present applies to pets from most countries and regions except for about four dozen locations that are granted exemptions.
Pets from Group I locations, such as Ireland, Australia, Fiji and Hawaii, are not subject to quarantine after they are two months old and above, vaccinated and chipped.
Cats and dogs from Group II locations, including the continental United States, Canada, Taiwan, Singapore and Guam, will have quarantine waived if they are inoculated and chipped at the age of five months.
Any locations outside the first two categories are considered Group III, the highest-risk places.
Pets from Group III locations must undergo a mandatory 120-day quarantine period, with their owners paying daily fees of HK$90 (US$11.5) for dogs and HK$46 for cats.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Hong Kong said the reduced quarantine period could improve animal welfare, but remained cautious about whether it could curb demand for pet smuggling.
“Many pet smugglers are looking to maximise profit gains with little regard for the health and safety of the animals involved,” it said.
“We urge all pet owners to be responsible and not to resort to illegal means, which impose risks on the animals involved. Sadly, many do not survive the smuggling process.”
The organisation suggested authorities introduce more effective screening measures, such as requiring owners to present their pets’ vaccine records and certificates for rabies antibody blood tests from recognised laboratories, to minimise health risks.
Lawmaker Kong, meanwhile, advised authorities to scrap all quarantine requirements for pets that were vaccinated and tested negative for rabies.
“We shouldn’t discriminate and have varying standards for different places,” she said.
Authorities have said that even if the proposed policy change goes ahead, all pet owners will still need a special permit from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department before bringing their cats and dogs to Hong Kong.
