DSF rejects Anima’s request to visit Canidrome

Anima Macau’s request to visit the Canidrome was rejected by the Financial Services Bureau (DSF) due to public safety reasons.
The animal rights group had requested permission from DSF, who oversees the Canidrome, to visit the premises to mark two years since the greyhound racetrack closed.
The visit was scheduled for March 26, along with the participation of residents who have adopted greyhounds and other guests.
In the association’s letter to DSF dated February 8, Anima clarified that during the visit, its board members and volunteers duly identified would make sure that “everything goes in the best way and that everything is clean after our departure.”
In a reply sent to the association, DSF stated that there are areas in the site considered to be dangerous, explaining, “In order to avoid potential risks that may jeopardize the safety of the public, it is not appropriate to [visit] the kennel area. For this reason, it is not possible to grant the association’s request.”
Given the reply, the association has sent a letter to the Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong. Signed by Anima Macau’s Honorary Life president, Albano Martins, the letter contends that the reasons invoked by DSF make “very little sense because we know better than anyone the safety of these facilities which, although they were not cleaned during this entire period, would not cause any public health or safety problems for visitors.”
“[This] is very important for us because the [closure] was a well recognised movement that we consider an excellent work. DSF [invoked] safety reasons but I know the place very well,” Martins told the Times. LV