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Daniel Moss

Poison left at a Soho park has killed at least six beloved pets, neighbours report, and no one knows who is responsible.
White dishes containing what residents suspect was poison-laced meat were left out at Pak Tsz Lane Park near Aberdeen Street and Hollywood Road.
Two dogs and a cat were reported dead by their owners and at least another three animals are reported to have died.
The deaths occurred around February 14 and 15.
Ann Tsang, who owned two dogs, said in the space of a few hours her pets went from acting normally to having seizures then death.
“Obviously I’m emotionally devastated. That is the situation for any pet owner who loses their dog,” Tsang said. “In this circumstance it’s even harder to accept.”
After her shih tzu-pekingese cross Bam Bam began to suffer seizures and became very sick, it died at her Soho office around 7pm on February 15.
READ MORE: Monty and Coffee become latest victims of Lamma Island dog poisoner
Her other dog Bruno started to have seizures and similar symptoms, and after consulting her vet she raced her normally healthy dog to The Ark veterinary clinic.
The symptoms are a carbon copy of the Bowen Road dog poisoner’s strikes, said veterinarian Dr Jonathan Williams, who was consulted when Bam Bam was having a seizure.
“I said at the time it was very suspicious,” Williams said.
The poison organo phosphate is suspected in the two-decade saga when hundreds of animals were killed. The Bowen Road deaths sparked SPCA and Facebook campaigns, and in 2014 a HK$200,000 reward for information on the killer was posted.
According to Dr Gary Lo at The Ark, poisoning was suspected.
“Both dogs having seizures at the same time is unlikely [if no other factors were at play],” he said.
As the deaths weren’t reported to the police no toxicology report was made to ascertain whether the animals were poisoned.
Mr Fung, who works at a printers off a lane leading to the park, said he had raised a tabby cat from a kitten for the past three years before it died on February 14.
Staff at the printers said three other animals had also died in similar circumstances about that time.
Due to the fact that the poison was mixed with meat and left in the lane leading to the park, suspicion has landed on local bars and restaurants.
“Maybe the bar or restaurants paid for pest control in the street,” said a staff member at the printers, who did not want to be named.
READ MORE: A brush with the Bowen Road poisoner
But Stephane Bigand from Les Fils a Maman French restaurant said “categorically” his business wasn’t responsible for the bait.
“I’ve been here for three years, it makes no sense for me to kill any dog here,” he said, adding that contracted pest controllers spray for cockroaches outside his building but only lay sticky boards inside and do not use poison for rodents.
Grace Ma, the manager of nearby Club 71, said she had suspicions about who laid the bait.
She said she regularly fed neighbours’ pets and street cats from the bar. She cared for two ginger street cats who died from the suspected poisonings.
“I think someone did that on purpose but I have to give them the benefit of the doubt,” Ma said.
“There’s no point to blame anyone. I just want to raise public awareness.”
She appealed to whoever laid the bait to “have a little mercy”.
The park is maintained by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. A spokesman told the Post that departmental staff did not lay any poison in the park.
The Food and Environmental Health Department called on the public to contact them if rodent problems occurred outside their homes.
“The public is not advised to place poisonous bait in public areas for killing rodents,” a spokesman said.
“The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will carry out investigations and rodent control work.”
Tsang is organising a demonstration at the park at 2pm on Saturday to protest against the poisonings and pledged a HK$100 donation to Lifelong Animal Protection for each person who attends.


A new Bowen Road? Hong Kong cats and dogs die after suspected poisonings in Soho

<p>Pets and street cats all died around the same time, prompting memories of the Bowen Road dog poisonings </p>

The Pak Tsz Lane park is on the Sun Yat Sen historical trail, but it has now gained a more sinister notoriety. Photo: SCMP Pictures

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Hong Kong

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Pets and street cats all died around the same time, prompting memories of the Bowen Road dog poisonings
