In Hong Kong, a city renowned for its cuisine, there exists a group of economically important animals—pigs and chickens—whose welfare is long ignored by both the law and public attention behind the scenes of the pork and poultry we consume daily. However, the serious shortcomings of current animal welfare legislation mean that these primary food sources, such as pigs and chickens, lack fundamental welfare protections during breeding, transportation, and slaughter. The Research Department of the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals must highlight that this legal neglect not only causes immense unnecessary suffering to countless animals but also stands in stark contrast to Hong Kong’s image as a civilised international metropolis. There is an urgent need to examine and reform this outdated system, extending protection for animal welfare to all life.

The Severe Imbalance and Fundamental Absence of Legal Protection

The core dilemma of animal welfare law in Hong Kong lies in its “selective protection.” The current “Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance,” dating back to 1935, was not designed to systematically protect the welfare of farm animals. More specific regulations can be found in the “Public Health (Animals and Birds) Regulations” and relevant subsidiary legislation, which primarily focus on public health concerns. This outdated framework has a fundamental flaw: while it provides clearer regulations for the transport and slaughter of cattle, sheep, and goats, it offers nearly complete legal silence on the welfare protections for pigs and chickens, the primary sources of meat consumption in Hong Kong.

This absurd legal imbalance means that the majority of food animals, including pigs and chickens, lack any species-specific minimum welfare standards throughout their entire life cycle—from birth and rearing to transportation and slaughter. For example, do they have basic space and bedding in crowded farming environments? Are there legal requirements for breaks, access to water, and protection from extreme temperatures during long transport periods? At the moment of facing their imminent death in the slaughterhouse, is there a law ensuring they are effectively and humanely stunned to avoid immense fear and suffering? Current legislation provides no answers to these critical questions. A 2010 review of relevant Hong Kong law by the University of Hong Kong clearly stated that local legislation is fragmented and outdated, failing to meet the growing international concern for animal welfare.

Hidden Suffering and Systemic Failures in Slaughterhouses

The direct consequence of legal absence is the suffering of animals during slaughter. Past investigations and related studies by our organisation have revealed severe animal welfare issues in some local slaughterhouses. To drive away fearful animals that hesitate to move forward, it is not uncommon for workers to use electric prods, sticks, or blunt objects, exacerbating the animals’ fear and stress. During unloading, herding, and waiting to be slaughtered, animals often suffer injuries due to overcrowding, poor facility design, or rough handling.

The most crucial aspect of humane slaughter—the effective stunning of animals to ensure they lose consciousness before bleeding—poses significant risks. Evidence suggests that the electrical stunning equipment used for pigs may have voltage parameters below internationally recognised effective standards, potentially leading to animals being merely immobilised rather than fully unconscious, allowing them to experience subsequent processes while still aware, enduring immense suffering. Furthermore, improper maintenance of stunning equipment, insufficient training of operators, and overly rapid slaughter line speeds undermine the principles of “humane slaughter.” These issues not only affect animal welfare but also result in significant pre-slaughter stress, compromising meat quality and producing “low-quality meat” that is discoloured and retains less moisture, ultimately harming consumer interests.

• Building a Comprehensive Safeguard System: Specific Policy Reform Recommendations
  
  In the face of these systemic problems, sporadic criticisms are insufficient. We must advocate for forward-looking legal and policy reforms to bring the welfare of economic animals under a modern, scientific regulatory framework. To this end, we propose the following four core recommendations:
  
  1. Initiate Dedicated Legislation to Fill Legal Gaps.
  
  The government should reference advanced laws such as the UK’s Animal Welfare Act to initiate the drafting of a “Welfare of Economic Animals Ordinance” for Hong Kong. This ordinance must be independent of the purely public health framework, explicitly prioritising the protection of animal welfare and including pigs, chickens, ducks, and all common food animals within its protective scope, setting legal welfare requirements for their entire commercial lifecycle.
  
  2. Develop and Enforce an “Animal Transport, Rearing and Slaughter Operations Code of Practice.”
  
  This code must be based on scientific standards from organisations like the World Organisation for Animal Health and establish highly operable detailed regulations. It must include: maximum continuous transport times for each species, space density, temperature control, and water requirements during transport; basic environmental enrichment and management standards for farm rearing; as well as rest periods before slaughter, herding methods, specifications and calibration for stunning equipment, operator accreditation, and effectiveness verification procedures to ensure that each stunning is rapid and effective.
  
  3. Establish Transparent, Independent Monitoring and Enforcement Mechanisms.
  
  We recommend creating an independent committee comprising animal welfare experts, veterinarians, and civil representatives to conduct unannounced inspections of licensed slaughterhouses and large farms. At the same time, legislation should mandate that all slaughterhouses install closed-circuit television surveillance systems in critical areas (such as loading zones, herding passages, stunning, and bleeding points), with recorded footage stored for at least three months for review by regulatory bodies and as evidence in the event of complaints. This measure can effectively deter misconduct.
  
  4. Enhance Professional Training and Public Right to Know.
  
  The government should fund and regulate mandatory animal welfare training for practitioners, linking this to professional qualifications. Simultaneously, public education should raise citizens’ awareness of “humane rearing and slaughtering,” encouraging consumers to pay attention to welfare standards behind meat products and thereby use market dynamics to drive industry improvements.
  

Conclusion: The Moral Obligation to Move from Silence to Action

The suffering of food animals is often overlooked due to the hidden nature of their production processes, but this should not serve as an excuse for our avoidance of responsibility. The civilised nature of a society is reflected in how it treats the vulnerable lives that serve it. Hong Kong has ample resources and expertise to change the status quo. We call upon the SAR Government, legislative bodies, the industry, and every citizen to confront this critical issue of ethics, food safety, and social progress. By promptly improving legislation, enforcing laws strictly, and raising public awareness, we can not only alleviate the suffering of countless animals but also endow Hong Kong with a deeper sense of civility, truly building a city that respects all life.