Animal Cruelty and Welfare Cases Investigated and Enforcement Actions Taken

41 Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for National Development in each year of the last five years (a) how many animal cruelty and welfare cases has the Ministry (i) investigated and (ii) taken enforcement actions on; (b) what is the breakdown of the cases by types of offence; and (c) what is the breakdown of the cases by types of animal.

Mr Desmond Lee: From 2019 to 2023, the National Parks Board (NParks) investigated an average of about 1,200 cases of alleged animal cruelty and welfare cases annually. Majority of the cases involved dogs and cats. Among the cases investigated, an average of 50 cases resulted in enforcement against the offender, such as the issuance of warning letter, composition fine or court prosecution. The annual breakdown is shown in Table 1 below.

The remaining cases resulted in no further enforcement action due to a lack of evidence or were unrelated to cruelty and welfare. Such cases were often associated with disputes or disamenities caused by pets or community animals, or deaths of community animals due to unrelated reasons, such as accidental falls from height.

* Enforcement action refers to the issuance of a warning letter, a composition fine, or to court prosecution. Investigations for some cases are ongoing and have not been included in the count.