Yoko Choi and Lau Pui Chan, key members of the Abandoned Animals Protection Association of Macau (AAPAM), Wednesday handed in a petition, addressed to Secretary for Administration and Justice Florinda Chan Lai Man, calling for tougher penalties for animal abuse.
After handing in the petition to a representative outside Government House, Choi told reporters: “In Hong Kong a person was sentenced to three months in prison because he abused a cat and the government appealed, complaining that the penalty was too lenient. However, in Macau, a caretaker was only charged a couple of thousand [patacas]. This is unfair [to the animals].”
According to The Macau Post Daily, a 64-year-old caretaker of a recycling centre in Taipa cut up a dog that he had hanged at the site located opposite the public housing Lakeside Building last Wednesday. The caretaker, who told police later he was about to cook and eat the dog, was only fined. Police had arrived at the centre after a tip-off from a resident living nearby.
The caretaker was merely charged with improper disposal of a body and was fined anything from 700 to 2,500 patacas, according to a member of the association,
According to the petition, the association has asked the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) to release more information on the slaughter, such as the name of the company the caretaker worked for, whether the caretaker is a non-local worker and, if so, he should be deported.
Choi also said that the current penalty was too little to stop people from abusing animals and should be raised to the same level as Hong Kong.
In Hong Kong, an abuser is liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to HK$200,000 and up to three years imprisonment. The association urged the government to draft a bill on animal protection now.
According to previous reports, the IACM has been drafting an animal protection and welfare bill since 2006 but the government has still not submitted any bill regarding animal protection to the Legislative Assembly for debate and vote.(macauhub)
