Suspected pet bait was spotted near an apartment complex in Tsuen Wan for the fourth time in less than a month and a half, prompting alarm among residents who own pets and fear they could fall prey.
According to Apple Daily, a resident found the suspicious substance by a pedestrian bridge in Hong Kong Garden, in Sham Tseng, on Wednesday. The resident took a picture of it and sent it to a chat group to alert others in the estate.
The discovery comes less than a week after similar, poisonous-looking blocks were spotted in the complex.
A resident, surnamed Lam, told Apple Daily that he was walking his dog last Thursday evening when he came across two pieces of dog food mixed with a reddish substance.
“[I] thought it was chocolate at first, [then I] took a closer look and saw that it wasn’t,” Lam said.
Suspecting it to be poisonous, Lam reported the sighting to the police and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
However, the police said that they were unable to investigate or test the bait for poison as there have not been any cases of dog deaths. An SPCA member told Lam that the bait placement could have been intentional, judging from its appearance and location.
According to Oriental Daily, residents have also recently spotted dog food mixed with broken glass pieces in the estate’s vicinity.
Last year, the housing complex was the scene of a horrific animal abuse crime involving almost 30 animals—including a cat, two rabbits and nine chinchillas—thrown from a fifth floor window. Fifteen pet corpses were found on the slope outside.
Months later, the Secretary of Justice decided not to pursue prosecution, angering animal rights’ groups who said the two arrested suspects should have been punished.
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