Hong Kong will press ahead with dog-friendly dining despite backlash, pullouts

Hong Kong will press ahead with its new dog-friendly dining scheme despite a public backlash and the withdrawal of 11 participating restaurants, the environment minister has said, describing the situation as part of an initial adjustment period.Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said on Sunday that authorities would step up inspections and public education to reduce rule violations.The scheme took effect just over a week ago.“Photos posted by internet users are not fake. These things must have happened, but they are not widespread,” he said, referring to images showing dogs being fed with restaurant utensils or placed on tables, which had sparked heated online arguments between pet owners and regular diners.“We hope that through inspections and education, non-compliant and inappropriate behaviour will gradually disappear during this adjustment period.”Tse said authorities had so far approved 11 applications from restaurants seeking to withdraw from the voluntary programme.But he saw no reason to put the policy on hold, noting that only a small proportion of the city’s restaurants were allowed to admit dogs and that both businesses and customers remained free to opt out.