三十多間餐廳退出狗友好計劃 70張警告通知書已發出

Hong Kong environment chief says overall compliance is ‘acceptable’ and is confident ‘teething’ problems will be solved to develop pet-friendly culture Old Fung Tea House, a dog-friendly dim sum restaurant in Mong Kok. Photo: Sam Tsang More than 30 restaurants have withdrawn from Hong Kong’s new dog-friendly dining scheme, while officers have issued 70 warnings during inspections since its launch, the city’s environment chief has said. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said on Saturday that 31 restaurants had withdrawn from the scheme since it was introduced two weeks ago. However, he stressed that the overall compliance level was “acceptable” and he was confident the “teething” problems would be gradually solved. “The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has dispatched a team of 90 people and conducted 14,000 inspections in the two weeks since the scheme was launched, issuing 70 verbal warnings and receiving 65 complaints,” he told a radio programme. “Some 31 restaurants have pulled out of the scheme, possibly due to problems with their positioning and customer base.” The government initially granted permits to 940 restaurants and cafes after receiving more than 2,100 applications for a capped quota of 1,000 places. The initiative has been welcomed by pet owners, many of whom noted that dining alongside pets was already common practice in mainland China, France and the United Kingdom, with several calling the move long overdue. Addressing the early friction, Tse noted that participating restaurants needed to prepare and adapt, while dog owners must keep their pets under control and allow other diners time to adjust. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan (third from right) visits a dog-friendly restaurant in the West Kowloon Cultural District on July 9, the day the scheme came into effect. Photo: Sam Tsang He added that verbal warnings primarily stemmed from unclear signage at restaurant entrances or pet owners failing to properly restrain their dogs. Tse placed the initial friction into perspective, noting that the 65 complaints represented a tiny fraction of the department’s typical annual volume of more than 100,000 reports. “The number of verbal warnings is relatively low compared with the tens of thousands of inspections, and the overall compliance level is acceptable,” he said. “We hope there will be gradual improvement as the teething period is ironed out, eventually developing a pet-friendly culture and environment.” Tse expressed confidence that the situation would gradually improve. Unhandled type: inline-plus-widget {"type":"inline-plus-widget"} “We’ll continue to inspect, step up promotion of the scheme and cooperate with pet owners,” he said. “It takes time to establish a pet-friendly culture.”