Inspectors from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) are in a village in Tai Po today following reports of suspicious dog deaths in the area.
The incident today, according to HK01, involved two dogs in Wai Tau Tsuen, which were found dead by staff at a local gardening business at about 9:45am.
The case — which is being investigated by police — followed local media reports concerning the suspected fatal poisoning of several dogs on Monday about 1.5km away in Tai Wo village off the Fanling Highway, the outlet reported.
A spokesperson for the SPCA said the group was trying to find out more details, while also putting up posters warning people about potential dog poisonings in the area.
“[Yesterday] we actually didn’t get any official call from police or a member of the public asking for our assistance but an inspector heard about this and did go and have a look, patrolled the area and spoke to villagers to see if anything suspicious was happening,” they told Coconuts.
“Today, we also didn’t get a call… but our inspectors are there right now to figure out what’s happening.”
The spokesperson urged anyone with information to ring the SPCA hotline on 2711 1000.
“If people do see anything they can call our hotline or call the police because poisoning of dogs or cruelty to animals is a fine up to HK$200,000 (US$25,000) and a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment,” they said.
Distressing as it is, the incidents is far from the first case of their type in Hong Kong, which has seen hundreds of dogs poisoned over the last three decades (Coconuts TV documentary).
Recently late last year, several dogs were killed last year on Lantau island, in what was believed to be intentional poisoning.
