Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to express my concerns on pet abuse in Hong Kong. I am a resident of an old-typed public housing estate in Shek Kip Mei. I really suspect that my neighbours are treating their pets cruelly and even do not treat them as living things. I am so concerned about the incidents because pets’ lives are also valuable and precious like human.
In the estate I am living in, I found that a cold-blooded resident always locks his dog with thick iron chains out of the flat and leave it in the corridor. It barks and howls painfully almost every night. This not only harms the well-being of the dog, but is also extremely disturbing to the neighbours. Besides, I doubt if that resident has given enough food and water to the dog, leading it to become so thin and weak. It is now as thin as a lath.
Another abuse case is that there are a lot of abandoned animals put outside the main gate of the building. This is so frequent that it happens several times every month. There are dickybirds, kittens, and even puppies. They are usually put into narrow and tiny paper boxes , lacking protection, food and health care. Some of them even have bruises on them. It is likely that they received maltreatments from their owners before. I really want to find out who left them alone, but I could not find any trace or concrete evidence. I, as an ordinary citizen, do not have sufficient resources and time to help all the abandoned pets, either. I hope you can follow up the incidents to save those pets from threats and difficulties.
Animals are living creatures and they have the right to survive. They can feel hungry and thirsty and the pain like we do. We should not inflict any suffering upon them just because they cannot speak our language. In order to stop the problem of pet abuse, I trust you, the SPCA, which aims at protecting animals and promoting animal welfare, can absolutely help a lot. First, you could raise the awareness of the public about the problem by launching different campaigns such as animal workshops, charity bazaars and the like. Second, you could also persuade the government to introduce stricter legislations on abusing pets to raise citizens’ awareness and thus alleviate the problem. Apart from this, the most vital element for solving the problem is the attitude of the pet owners. You could launch more education and promotion on building up responsible attitude towards owning a pet. It is crucial to let the pet owners know that owning a pet is a life-long commitment. They need to bear the responsibility of taking care of their pet’s lives. Furthermore, you could also provide assistance for pet owners to teach them how to treat the pets well as many pets are treated badly because their owners do not have the basic knowledge about how to take care of the pets in appropriate ways.
Nowadays, many people keep pets casually on impulse. These irresponsible thoughts have caused the problem of pet abuse to deteriorate. In fact, the precious lives of pets should definitely be protected and respected. Your efforts are crucial and urgent in saving all the pets from this exigent and appalling situation.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Wong
Chris Wong