New Macau visits Canidrome site calling for speedier adoptions

An aspect of the Canidrome before its closure

The New Macau Association yesterday organized a visit to the site of the now-closed Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome in the hope of pressuring the Canidrome company to expedite the adoption process by eliminating administrative procedures.

The democrat political association is also calling for the latest information on the care provided to the former racing animals.

“The Canidrome company should provide more information about the adoption process,” Sulu Sou, lawmaker and New Macau member, told the Times. “I know that there are many people who want to adopt the greyhounds – both locally and internationally – but administrative procedures are [proving to be] a hindrance to solving the adoption problem.”

Also yesterday, in his role as lawmaker, Sou submitted a letter to the government calling for it to release in full a study conducted on the possible future use of the Canidrome land plot.

Late last month, the government announced that two-thirds of the approximately 26,500-square-meter plot would be reserved for sports facilities. Twenty percent would be used for education purposes, nearly 10 percent for social services and government facilities and about 5 percent for pedestrian use.
The decision stemmed from a study conducted by the New Territories Urban Planning and Engineering Consultancy Co., which examined possible uses for the land after the greyhound racing concession expired. The government contract was worth a total of MOP1.45 million.

In yesterday’s letter, Sou invoked a general procedure for more information, calling on the government to release the study in full.

“When the government [spends] more than 1 million patacas [on a project], then the public deserves to know what the product was,” he insisted with the Times. Like many people, he said, “I can’t give an opinion on that [the government’s decision] as I don’t have enough information on what the study said.”

Sou also said that it would have been better for the authorities to conduct a public consultation on the future uses of the former greyhound racing site as “it is a large area and affects many residents, especially those in the northern district.”

The Canidrome closed its doors on July 20 this year after its concession expired. It had operated in Macau for more than half a century.