Restructuring of Government bureaux – Statement by Animal Earth
(2007.05.22)
The Chief Executive has recently raised a proposal for restructuring Government bureaux, in which the existing Health, Welfare and Food Bureau will be converted to Food and Health Bureau. A separate bureau, the Environment Bureau will be set up to deal with environmental issues. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, which has all along been dealing with welfare of non-human animals, will report to the Food and Health Bureau.
Animal Earth thinks it is very outdated thinking to put policies involving non-human animals under Food and Health. Nowadays, in Hong Kong, it is still a fact that some non-human animals are being regarded as food, items of trade, raw materials or tools due to deep-rooted human culture and custom. However, there are far more animals who exist as users of the city and family members. Non-human animals have an inseparable relationship with human beings, the environment and the ecosystem, and are born with the right to live and the dignity of life; they play an indispensable role in sustainable development. The structuring of government bureaux and their allocation of functions reflect the government's understanding of these modern concepts, and the extent to which these is put to practice. This has a profound influence on Hong Kong's capacity to become an international city with well-balanced development.
We maintain that the Government should set up a dedicated unit under the purview of the Environment Bureau to, from ecological and conservational perspectives, promote and protect the rights of non-human animals. Our specific views are as follows :
(1) It is becoming increasingly popular to adopt non-human animals as family members. However, the operation of pet shops and pets trading are not properly regulated. Animal Earth requests the authorities to properly regulate the import and export of non-food animals, their breeding and trading, to avoid unscrupulous traders and irresponsible pet owner causing suffering to innocent lives;
(2) At present, law-enforcement officers often shirk responsibility and fail to effectively crack down on cruelty to animals, whose rights and interests are thus not duly protected. Animal Earth requests the authorities to set up a ‘non-human animals inspection team’ to deal with matters relating to rights and interests of animals;
(3) The present licensing for keeping animals is chaotic, causing people to bustle around between government departments, wasting time and effort. In between, the rights and interests of animals are often overlooked or compromised. Animal Earth requests the Government to group licensing procedure for animals under one single department. This helps to embrace the concept that non-human animals are family members and community users;
(4) The Animal Welfare Advisory Group (AWAG) under the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has been set up for a quite some years, but with virtually no achievement. AFCD filters out opinion that it does not want to hear. Animal Earth requests the authorities to set up an independent advisory mechanism, and fully cooperate with members of the public and NGOs to truly listen to pubic's input;
(5) Strengthen education, enhance government personnel's and the public's knowledge on non-human animals, and bringing them the idea that non-human animals are creatures with feeling; and that human beings bear obligation toward the nature;
(6) In cases where non-human animals issues involve different Government agencies, the dedicated unit should play a key role in coordinating the efforts, so as to balance the rights and interests of all city-users (including human and non-human animals) so that the less privileged community and species will not be deprived of their inborn rights due to their inability to assert them.
Animal Earth urges the authorities to consider factors like ecology, sustainable development, space planning, humanities and culture, when dealing with matters concerning non-human animals. Only by doing so can the integration culture of Hong Kong be improved, and the quality of humanities in the society be enhanced. To achieve the above targets, the Government should put the unit mentioned above and its function under the Environment Bureau instead of the Food and Health Bureau.
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