Stay of execution for 80 death row dogs as charity given lease extension
Six-month extension to Sai Kung kennel's lease grants stay of execution - but foundation still needs planning approval for new base in Ma On Shan
Eighty dogs that were condemned to be put down have been given a stay of execution, after their animal shelter, in Sai Kung, received a six-month extension to its lease.
The kennel and adoption centre at Tai Lam Wu, in Ho Chung, had been facing the prospect of euthanising its animals if homes could not be found for them before the lease expired last week.
But with the six-month extension comes a jump in rent - from HK$20,000 to HK$50,000 a month.
Still, it buys time for the shelter to relocate. "I'm finally back to feeling happy again," Sai Kung Stray Friends Foundation chairwoman Narelle Pamuk said.
The dogs were not completely out of the woods, Pamuk said. The new premises the foundation secured in Ma On Shan, with a five-year lease, needs approval from the Town Planning Board to be used as an animal sanctuary. "We need lots of people supporting us," she said. "If we don't get approval in six months, we'll be back to where we are today."
The plans are available for public comment until July 2, after which town planners will make their decision and inform the shelter by the end of next month.
