Gov’t extends deadline on rehousing greyhounds

The government approved a seven-day extension to the deadline for Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome to rehouse its retired greyhounds.

On Tuesday, the Canidrome was supposed to relocate some 160 greyhounds to its Coloane home.

Under the new timetable, the dogs are to be rehoused on or before October 6.

The new dog shelter in Coloane is near Instituto Canossiano Vila Madalena, a home for the elderly.

Speaking to reporters prior to the government’s reception to celebrate the 69th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Chief Executive Chui On said that the SAR would take enforcement actions, if necessary, should Canidrome fail to act in line with Macau’s noise control regulations and the city’s Animal Protection Law.

Chui added that the government has been monitoring any possible impacts on the nearby community caused by the new shelter for the greyhounds.

Meanwhile, in a letter addressed to the head of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), José Tavares, local animal rights group, Anima, warned that the new deadline proposed for adoptions (between March and April 2019) is not practical.

“As you can imagine, everything becomes more complicated with this decision and the animals, instead of taking one year to leave [and be adopted], will take two or three years,” the letter read, as cited in a TDM report.

“This short timeline will result in the end of the sterilization and treatment in Macau and not guarantee that [the outside recipients] will accept this measure, even if the costs are covered by Yat Yuen.”

IACM previously noted that the Canidrome would be fined for abandonment if the relocation of the greyhounds to its new Coloane home did not occur. Anima president, Albano Martins, then told TDM that the organization would dedicate itself to the adoption processes.

Meanwhile, José Tavares explained yesterday on the sidelines of the Executive Council press conference that the transfer of greyhounds from the Canidrome facilities to the new location in Coloane would not happen. According to the official, the reason is due to “lack of isolation of the new venue,” he said when questioned by the media.

Tavares noted that the IACM had performed an inspection of the facilities ahead of the transfer, finding that “the facilities were not built like they should and the isolation is not perfect.”
With only two days left before the deadline for clearing the Canidrome facilities, it is not likely that the company will be able to fix the facilities on time.

According to Tavares, what can happen is the imposition of a fine, “that can go from MOP20,000 to MOP100,000.” “We will study and considered this according to the costs related to the shipping of the greyhounds for adoption outside Macau,” he said. He noted that the possibility of the government covering such expenses has not been excluded at this stage.
Also not excluded, Tavares said, is the possibility of the government seeking compensation from the Canidrome Company by judicial means.  LV/RM