Legislative Assembly | Euthanizing animals to be last resort to prevent disease spread

Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan (center)

The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) will make euthanizing animals its last resort used to prevent animal disease, the bureau’s representatives remarked during yesterday’s Legislative Assembly (AL) plenary session. 

Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan and the  IAM’s representatives presented the veterinary disease prevention bill at the AL yesterday. The bill, which was passed in general terms, suggested that the IAM authorize the right to euthanize animals when necessary.

Lawmakers, including Agnes Lam and Sulu Sou, voiced their concerns about euthanasia. The lawmakers mainly asked about the government’s measures in strictly implementing the law when animals must be euthanized. Compensating concerned parties after euthanasia was also proposed by lawmaker Leong Sun Iok.

Sulu Sou proposed the government establish laws to regulate vet clinics and vets. Other lawmakers wondered whether the government has already had discussions with animal protection groups and whether or not the government’s proposal is supported by these groups.

Replying to the lawmakers’ questions, Sonia Chan said that the local government is drafting a law bill on vet clinics. She acknowledged the importance of managing and accrediting the sector.

Chan noted that vet clinics must report to the IAM when they record an animal disease case. Animal owners are also obliged to make sure their sick animals receive medical treatment.

Generally speaking, animals received by the IAM will first be sent for isolated observation. During the observation period, the IAM will closely monitor the animals’ health and other conditions. The IAM will also provide medical treatment to the animals. Euthanasia will be the IAM’s last option.

Regarding compensation to interested parties in the animal business, IAM President José Tavares said that the bureau provides subsidies to the parties instead of “compensation”, which means that the money given, while representing a financial loss, is not governmental compensation but a form of help given to the concerned parties.

He also explained that the IAM has detected sick animals in the past, and that some were euthanized, though not killed in a brutal manner.

Lawmaker Mak Soi Kun then indicated that he wishes the government to handle the stray animal  problem in Coloane. In his opinion, Coloane has an excessive number of stray animals, in particular stray dogs, which pose a danger to the public.

“Many residents have told me that there are increasingly more stray dogs,” said Mak.

Replying to Mak’s comment, the IAM representative said that when stray dogs do not carry diseases, they are passed to local communities for re-homing.

In recent years, on average, the IAM only registered a single-digit number of illegally imported animals. 

Besides the animal disease prevention bill, the amendment of the stamp tax bill was generally passed at the Legislative Assembly (AL) yesterday as well. The bill proposed a four- to 10-fold penalty for tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong explained that, in some cases, buildings consisting of small shops engaged in tax evasion and tax avoidance behaviors that caused unfairness to small shops operating inside the buildings’ premises.

Currently, the penalty for tax evasion and tax avoidance for stamp tax is between 100 patacas and 10,000 patacas, respectively. The government holds that the current amount is rather small compared to penalties related to other taxes, such as the tourism tax.

The amendment mainly proposed simplifying tax payment procedures and increasing the aforementioned penalty.