More than 30 restaurants pull out of dog-friendly scheme, 70 warnings issued

More than 30 restaurants have pulled out of Hong Kong’s new dog-friendly dining scheme, and 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Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said on Saturday that some 31 eateries had withdrawn from the dog-friendly restaurant scheme since it was introduced two weeks ago, but stressed that the overall compliance level was “acceptable” and that he was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.”

A total of 940 restaurants and eateries began allowing customers to dine with dogs after obtaining permits under the scheme, marking the end of a 30-year ban originally introduced to prevent rabies.

The department received over 2,100 applications for the scheme, more than double the initial quota of 1,000 places. Eventually, 940 restaurants and eateries received permits, ending the need for some operators to rely on grey areas such as outdoor seating areas.

The scheme has been welcomed by pet owners, with many saying that it was “a good direction for Hong Kong”, as people in mainland China, France and the United Kingdom were already accustomed to dining with their pets under similar arrangements. Others said they had been waiting for the change for years.