Leong feeling the heat from animal lovers
A Macau dog racing track that was ordered to close and vacate the premises on July 20, attempted—without success—to turn over more than 500 greyhounds to the government.
Lawyers for Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome made the case that under Article 17 of the city’s Animal Protection Law, track owners had the right to relinquish the dogs to the government because it could no longer care for them.
The government wasn’t having it. In a statement, lawmakers said Yat Yuen “did not assume the owner’s responsibilities and obligations to properly house the existing greyhounds,” which could now be considered abandoned. Abandoning the animals could lead to hefty fines, according to the Macau News Agency: between MOP 20,000 (US$2,750) and MOP 100,000 (US$12,380) for each greyhound abandoned, for a possible total of . Last week, Yat Yuen was given seven working days to either reclaim the greyhounds or pay the fines, which could reach MOP53.3 million(US$66 million).
The dog track opened in 1963, and close this month after more than 50 years. After the gates closed, the administrator of the Board of Directors of the IACM, Ung Sau Hong, and a team of veterinarians entered the Canidrome to check on the greyhounds. “In a preliminary evaluation, the health of greyhounds was generally considered normal and a few had light dermatological diseases, with no greyhounds needing special care,” a statement from the IACM said.
According to the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong businesswoman Kathleen Trainor spent two years fighting “Byzantine government bureaucracy” as she tried to rehome the dogs in Hong Kong. The sportswear company executive called on the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to extend an August 31 deadline for submitting adoption papers for the dogs.
The Canidrome is owned by Macau legislator Angela Leong On-kei, the fourth wife of casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun. Leong has yet to comment on the legal action, but Trainor has a lot to say.
“It’s the government bureaucracy and lack of a plan—too little, too late—that got us into these dire straits with the greyhounds,” she said. “The timing is just too tight to really give much chance of adopting and importing many greyhounds into Hong Kong. An extension would be fantastic.”
A Post editorial called on Leong to ensure the animals are retired “in dignity and security.”
“As one of Macau’s most powerful public figures, she has sadly failed to meet her responsibility as effective owner of the dogs used for the only racing track in the region,” the editorial continued. “There should have been plenty of time for her to settle the animals humanely, despite efforts by many animal welfare activists to put in an adoption program as well as offers from around the world to shelter those dogs.”
The editorial called the inaction of Leong’s company “inexcusable.”
