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Sabe 1

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Dr John Wedderburn's reply on Jan 22, also on the "Letters to the Editor" page:

Inaction by officials added to dog problem

Adam Bornstein makes several errors in his letter ("Desexing scheme for stray dogs has failed in Lamma village", January 16).

He is correct in the sense that the scheme has not yet been fully successful but it can certainly not be deemed a failure.

First, the reason for the numbers of feral dogs increasing over the years was that the Agriculture, Fisheries and conservation Department and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) requested that no trap, neuter, release scheme should be carried out there because they were planning to do a scientific trial whose validity they claimed would be compromised if an unofficial scheme was started before theirs.

Year after year went by and time was wasted by consultation after consultation - the result was the steady increase in the numbers of dogs, as observed by Mr Bornstein.

If the government had allowed the trap, neuter, release scheme to be started there when first requested in 2008, there would already be no dogs left.

When finally, last year, the department and SPCA decided not to go ahead on Lamma, a group started it unofficially last March.

The reason progress has not been more rapid is because, so far, it has not been possible to control the villagers who wish to continue "shovelling large quantities of dog food", as Mr Bornstein correctly puts it. Dogs with full stomachs do not enter traps.

Interestingly, it is not villagers in favour of the department's catch and kill policy that have been the problem but those who can't bear to think of dogs being trapped and neutered.

If the department ordered villagers to stop putting down food, this minimum of official support would ensure success.

The heated discussion is continuing in the [url]Lamma Dog Owners[/url] Facebook group.

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Mislead Animal Activists

Disinformation sprinkled with a few selected truths always make for a better story.

Significant sums of money have been extracted from sympathetic but tragically misinformed individuals.

Eager to come to the rescue of their furry friends, common sense, consideration for neighbors and observance of HK and local laws are often swept aside. All fueled by, according to the victims, a jargon wielding "scientist and expert".

It has been acknowledged that a "group" unofficially ( read illegally) started their own experiment; "Years and Years" before individuals renting property in South Lamma or working as domestic servants were influenced by disinformation that a TNR was actually in place on Lamma. This individual clearly had self serving and frustrated motives by soliciting individuals , knowing full well, and as sited, the HK Gov. program " would be compromised".

The source of that information will never likely or easily be identified, nor will they be prosecuted for their deception.
Makes you wonder why ?.. Why Us?..

As a long time resident who enjoyed the tranquility of S. Lamma, I must now endure the nightly feeding frenzy, howling, screams of terror by visitors and the TNR illegal dogs fighting for their life. Furthermore, the confused activists now also assume the right to let any dog go unleashed, fight and die while they compete for food and territory with the much stronger better adapted bred of the wild un-cut animals.

I ask, where is the humanity in 3 years of suffering for the TNR animal.
I only see profit and self promotion as motive.
The TNR scheme is a Euphemism.
Actually CCCC: Captured, Castrated, Condemned, and Capitalized is more accurate than TNR.

Stop the feeding, stop the releasing, don't be fooled by mislead activists,
and smooth talking emotional blackmailers with their hand out.

For the sake of all, animal and human alike, don't let your furry friends go "dogging" at night.

That is the point Alan.
The soft hearted in S. Lamma were encouraged by someone posing as an officially sanctioned TNR " administrator" when they were not.
When that provocateur, realized their Unofficial TNR experiment was unraveling because they failed to understand Anthropomorphic tendencies of the people they targeted for the support of the illegal scheme, blame was shifted.

John seems uniquely aware of this, I congratulate him for his observations while not even being a Lamma resident.

John Wedderburn is a Lamma resident and has been for a very long time.
He used to live in Tai Peng, he's moved down to the lowlands of YSW now.

Anyway, whoever this "provocateur" is, and whatever they did, does not disprove TNR as a viable strategy.

The alternative is for AFCD to just to try to catch and kill them, which has failed to work anywhere. They have neither the manpower nor the willpower to make a real difference. Enough dogs survive after the sporadic hunts, and not being sterilised, can breed to keep their numbers up to as high as the available food will allow.

Unless Yu Lai Fan would like to spray the hills with Agent Orange to remove the pesky trees and shrubs and pave the island in concrete so they have nowhere to hide.

That didn't work in Vietnam .
And actually what your saying.. catch and kill them doesn't work is exactly the TNR strategy.. (Catch them, wait till they die )

. TNR only will work in a place where the the released population is isolated from the abandoned, and animals who have evolved to survive in the wild. Stop the Feeding, Stop attracting un-cut animals .. the population disburses... Back to the dumpsters of the Restaurants and Bars in YSW.

The Government has had 50 years to show that Catch and Kill works. It obviously does not. TNR is the only method that will work - but of course it will only work if done correctly.
No one, except a few misguided individuals, wishes those dogs to be there. They are a nuisance to residents and visitors and they themselves live miserable lives. As pointed out so often, if only a few dogs are removed (whether by killing or homing), the population will rapidly recover. LoSoBay is right that one of the key components of correct TNR is control of the food sources - this is what has been so difficult in Lo So Shing. Controlling the food to the point of starving the dogs to extinction is impossible, apart from being inhumane - some dogs will find adequate food from somewhere and continue the breeding cycles. We all want a permanent solution to this problem. The psychopathic amongst us don't care if the solution is inhumane (starving, shooting, poisoning, agent orange, etc) but, fortunately, none of those will work. The only long term permanent solution is TNR. It is entirely humane. The dogs have to endure the indignity of sitting in a trap and being taken to a vet. But they will quickly be back with their families. Apart from the desexing (under anaesthetic of course) the dogs are treated for a variety of infections and infestations and are immunised against others. After their return, they will be monitored by volunteers - not left to die as LSB says.
Food is made available to the dogs in a place where gatherings of dogs are not a nuisance. All other food sources must be controlled as much as possible - that means FEHD must do a much better job of enforcing food waste regulations and villagers must stop putting food down in open public places.
Lamma Island should be an ideal place for doing TNR. Only the occasional dog arrives from outside and can usually be quickly identified. In theory it should be quite easy to TNR the required 70% of the dog population - at 70% the numbers start to decline; higher percentages bring steeper declines. We could achieve success much faster if it wasn't opposed by this vocal minority who don't have the mental capacity to understand TNR.

By the way - we need more volunteers to help with TNR. Both in the North and the South of Lamma. This is a do-able project which will result in much benefit to humans and dogs alike.
Please private message me on Facebook.

Oh and for those un aware of the location of the abandoned LO SO school and the adjacent pavilion .. It is at the primary intersection for visitors walking with their children and elderly family members going to and coming from YSW/SKW ..

The Uncontrolled animals have dug out the sand under the sidewalk .. for shelter (as the TNR scheme does not consider shelter or fresh water important )to the point it has fractured and is no longer safe for traffic.. Yes more than a month ago it was attempted repair..but.. the dogs just dug it out again... watch your step.. and not just for the half digested regurgitated fish carcasas and droppings.. the area is so infested with uncontrolled dogs the health and safety department and sidewalk cleaners will not even attempt to clean it any longer.

This is what TNR has in your future.

My last comments on this subject.
1 The Government will not put itself out of a job by completing it.
2. It is Not the dogs fault. They are wonderful companions who were bred from wild wolf ancestry to be a best friend to the humans; ones that would care for and about them. Only when abandon, physically or through neglect of their needs and for discipline do they revert to their ancestral instincts.
3.TNR in its most honest description is: Solicit money from the naive to Handicap the unwanted and collect revenue and notoriety on the repercussions.
4. You will NEVER be able to stop the soft hearted feeders

Good Night Folks.. Tip of the hat to little Red Riding hood