Dogs in Hong Kong: rules, tax and travel

Dogs aged 5 months or older must be licensed with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), at AFCD Animal Management Centres or private vet clinics. The licence must be renewed at intervals of not more than three years, and keeping an unlicensed dog can bring a fine of up to HK$10,000.[1]

A microchip in a specified format must be implanted before a dog licence is issued, so all dogs over 5 months old must be chipped.[2]

There is no dog tax, but the dog licence costs HK$80 and is renewed with the rabies vaccination at least every three years.[2]

typical 80 HKD 3 years

The dog licence is required for every dog over 5 months and is tied to rabies vaccination every three years. No owner test exists, but owners of dogs of 20 kg or more can apply for a leash exemption by passing an examination showing the dog is controllable.[3]

Dogs in public places must be on a leash or otherwise under control (Rabies Ordinance, Cap. 421). Dogs of 20 kg or more must be held on a leash of at most 2 metres, or tied to a fixed object on at most 1.5 metres, including in lifts, lobbies and corridors; this does not apply in country parks or when swimming at sea. Fines for large dogs reach HK$25,000 and three months in prison.[4]

Not cleaning up dog faeces in a public place or the common parts of a building can bring a fine of HK$5,000. Cruelty to an animal carries up to HK$200,000 and three years in prison, and abandoning an animal up to HK$10,000 and six months.[5]

Keeping dogs has been banned in public housing since 1 August 2003, apart from small dogs already kept before that date. In private housing the building's Deed of Mutual Covenant decides whether pets are allowed.[5]

Fighting breeds may not be imported or bred, and existing ones must be neutered; see the breed rules file.[6]

A Special Permit from AFCD is needed in advance (HK$432 for one animal, HK$102 for each extra animal in the same shipment). Most EU countries, such as Austria and Germany, are Group II, where pets are normally exempt from quarantine if all permit conditions are met. Ireland is Group I; Hungary and Lithuania are Group IIIA, with rabies titre and at least 30 days of quarantine.[7]

Group I (Australia, Fiji, Hawaii, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, UK, Jersey): normally no quarantine. Group II (for example Canada, Singapore, Taiwan, continental USA): no quarantine if conditions are met. Group IIIA (Chinese Mainland, Macao, Malaysia, Thailand, Hungary, Lithuania): at least 30 days. Group IIIB (all other places): at least 120 days. A permit is valid 6 months for one consignment.[7]

Group IIIA: rabies vaccination at 90 days old or more, given 30 days to 1 year before export, then a FAVN or RFFIT titre of at least 0.5 IU/ml on a sample taken 90 days to 1 year before export, and at least 30 days after a primary vaccination.[8]

Group I and Group II: normally exempt if permit conditions are fully met. Group IIIA: at least 30 days at an AFCD Animal Management Centre or a licensed quarantine centre. Group IIIB: at least 120 days. Animals without proper documents may face at least 4 months of quarantine or be sent back. Quarantine is at the owner's expense.[9]