The Planning Department has suspended enforcement against the Sai Kung Stray Dog Association’s shelter and extended its compliance deadline by three months, to 12 December 2026. The move gives the operator more time, but does not approve the shelter’s use of the site.
About 70 dogs are in the part of the shelter affected by the enforcement action, according to figures reported from the association. If planning permission is refused, the animal-boarding use may still have to stop and arrangements may still be needed to relocate the dogs.
The reprieve follows the operator’s application to the Town Planning Board for temporary use of the site as an animal boarding facility for three years. The Planning Department said it received the application on 19 August and was processing it.
The department said it inspected the shelter in February and April, met the operator in April and issued enforcement notices in June to the operator and the relevant landowner. The notices required the unauthorised animal-boarding use to cease.
The association told i-CABLE News that more than half of the affected dogs were newly rescued and difficult to move, with many not yet trained to walk on a lead. It said the proposed temporary use would allow rescue, rehabilitation and community-education work to continue.
The planning application’s public consultation was due to close on 18 September. The association has also appealed for adoptions and temporary fostering, while the Planning Department said it was taking account of the time that might be needed to handle the animals if relocation becomes necessary.
The Lands Department said it would consider regularising the shelter’s land use and issuing a short-term waiver and tenancy only if planning permission is granted. The application therefore remains the key step before the extended 12 December deadline, when the shelter’s position and arrangements for the affected dogs will again come under pressure.