The Society notes that at about 11 p.m. last night (25 August), a member of the public was bitten by a dog near Belcher’s Street in Sai Wan.
A 34-year-old woman surnamed Teng was out walking when she encountered a 74-year-old man surnamed Ng whose dog was not on a leash. The dog then bit her calf, causing bleeding. She was conscious and taken to hospital. Reports say the owner appeared indifferent afterwards and at one point left the scene with the dog.
The Society is concerned for the injured woman and condemns the owner for failing to keep the dog under effective control in a public place.
The law requires dogs in public places to be kept under proper control. Even where a large dog has passed the exemption test and may be off-leash, the keeper must still be able to control it at once. That this dog bit a passer-by shows it was not under effective control at the time.
The harm does not stop with the person injured that day. When an owner fails in their duty, the public often directs fear and anger at all dogs, and at dog-keeping itself. Dogs and owners who follow the rules and have never hurt anyone are then labelled as well. The community image of dogs is dragged down by a few people’s negligence. The irresponsibility is the owner’s; the ones who pay for it are all dogs.
The Sai Wan case is not isolated. Recent attacks on people and other animals point to the same problem: some owners do not control their dogs in public, and preventable harm becomes reality.
The Society calls on: • the owner concerned to take responsibility and cooperate with the Police and AFCD; • all owners to keep their dogs under effective control in public — being off-leash is not a licence to let a dog roam; • the authorities to follow up under the law and step up patrols, so that similar cases are less likely to recur.
Hong Kong Society for Pet Nutrition
26 August 2026
