Macau (MNA) – As Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome officially moved out from the canidrome premises on the midnight of Friday, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) took control of the property, announcing that the company will be fined under the Animal Protection Law for abandoning 533 greyhounds in the premises.
Lawyers from the company had stated yesterday they were in talks with authorities to hand the dogs under article 17 of the Animal Protection Law, which states that in case of impossibility for taking proper care of the animals they would be transferred to IACM, with the owner subject to paying the government a fixed amount for the dogs’ food and accommodation.
However the government now announced that “Yat Yuen did not assume the owner’s responsibilities and obligations to properly house the existing greyhounds” and would then incur on a fine for abandonment.
According to the Animal Protection Law enforced in 2016 the fine for animal abandonment can range between MOP20,000 and MOP100,000, with the company headed by legislator Angela Leong On Kei risking to pay MOP10.6 million or MOP53.3 million.
After being notified by IACM the company will have seven working days to either reclaim the greyhounds or pay the fine.
Officially opened and operated by Yat Yuen starting from 1963, the racetrack closed doors after more than 50 years in operation on July 20 as the gaming exploration concession granted to company came to an end.
On the midnight of Friday the Administrator of the Board of Directors of the IACM, Ung Sau Hong, and a team of veterinarians entered the canidrome to assess the situation of 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,’ the IACM said.
The department said that it already implemented emergency response measures to manage the racetrack situation, carrying out on-site cleaning and security work, and distributed veterinarians, animal protection inspectors and personnel in the area of animal management and protection to care for the respective greyhounds on the spot.
Several animal rights groups were also asked for assistance in recruiting volunteers to help in the property, groups such as Anima – Society for the Protection of Macau Animals, MASDAW (Association for Street Dogs and Animal Welfare in Macau), and the Long Long (Macao) Volunteers Group.
The associations helped guarantee that at least some 40 volunteers provide the canidrome greyhounds with daily proper care starting from today, the IACM stated.
No information was provided on what will happen with the 129 workers that worked for Yat Yuen at the canidrome, with the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) having previously vowed to assist the workers in finding new occupations.
