The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) said in a statement Thursday night that it “condemns” the Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome Co. Ltd. for “shirking” its responsibility to house its greyhounds after it had received a letter from the company in the evening proposing the “reversion” of the dogs to the government after the official closure of the racetrack tonight.
The letter was forwarded by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) to the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau – which oversees the city’s animal protection – in the evening, the statement said.
According to the statement, Yat Yuen says in its letter that the greyhounds
are “part of the assets” for its concession to run greyhound racing that
should revert to the government following the expiration of the dog-racing concession at midnight tonight.
According to the statement, Yat Yuen says in its letter it believes that it
can “return” the greyhounds to the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau based on Article 17 of the Animal Protection Law, which states that if the owner of an animal cannot continue to feed it or cannot transfer it to others, he or she can pass the animal to the bureau but needs to pay the expenditure on its food and shelter.
The article also states that the owner will no longer hold possession of the animal after he or she pass it to the bureau.
During a special press conference on Wednesday about the government’s
procedures following the racetrack’s closure tonight, officials insisted
that the greyhounds are not part of the assets to revert to the government
according to the dog-racing agreement, the statement said.
The statement reiterated that Yat Yuen, as a large company and the dogs’
provider of food and shelter, is responsible for properly relocating the
greyhounds.
The statement also said that if the greyhounds are abandoned at the Fai Chi Kei racetrack, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau will fine the company in line with the Animal Protection Law. The bureau promised that it will ensure that the “retired” greyhounds will be properly taken care of, the statement said.
Meanwhile, according to a report by the Portuguese-language radio channel of government-owned broadcaster TDM, Yat Yuen offered to pay the government 1,000 patacas per greyhound if the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau decides to look after the dogs following the racetrack’s closure.
Yat Yuen is headed by legislator-cum-gaming executive Angela Leong On Kei, the fourth wife of retired casino mogul Stanley Ho Hung Sun.
