Pet smugglers are back in business now that the border has reopened with Hongkongers offered pets from the mainland at a fraction of the price they would pay for ones purchased in the city.
Most of the pets are bred in neighboring Shenzhen with cats and dogs priced at no more than 10,000 yuan (HK$12,500), and a third of what they would cost in Hong Kong.
Social media platforms on the mainland are flooded with pets for sale and many of the sellers on Xiaohongshu or Little Red Book - one of the hottest apps in China - even claim their pets are bred in Hong Kong.
Others, on the shopping platform Taobao, disguise themselves as pet adoption services to avoid scrutiny.
Hong Kong's Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department or AFCD has a task force to combat illegal animal trading and has requested Taobao and other platforms to take down any content about animal trade.
A search for "buy pets" on Taobao will usually show "pet supplies" or "pet accessories," indicating that pet sellers have gone offline, but they are there, masquerading as adoption agents.
Prospective buyers inquiring about pet adoption services are usually referred to a WeChat account where they can complete their purchases in private.
There are a wide range of pets sold online including dogs, cats, ornamental fish, rabbits, woolly mice, parrots and even snakes.
The number of pets available for sale is also high, with between 30 and 100 new pets added each day, all labeled by breed, age and price.
In addition, some firms claim to provide a one-stop service for buying and selling pets and delivering them to customers, with shipping costs as low as a few hundred yuan.
One such seller states that since the border of Hong Kong and the mainland is now open, they can "deliver a dog to you the same day."
The firms offers various ways of sending these pets to Hong Kong including "air transport," "air transport plus land transport" and "air transport to water transport."
They claim their services are legal and fall under the category of "regular imports."
SKIPPING QUARANTINE
However, these speedy services are evading Hong Kong's Customs laws, which requires cats and dogs imported from the mainland to be quarantined at the AFCD's two centers for at least 120 days after their arrival in Hong Kong to avoid the risk of rabies.
The AFCD has three groups of countries under which regulates the imports of cats and dogs. Pets from countries in the first and second groups do not need to be quarantined if they meet the permit requirements, but those from the third group - which includes the mainland - must undergo compulsory quarantine for four months.
The cost of quarantining a cat or dog is HK$46 and HK$90 per day and therefore, the minimum cost to complete quarantine for these pets from the mainland would be HK$5,520 and HK$10,800 respectively.
Also, the current waiting time for a quarantine slot at the two centers is 15 to 18 months.
Last year, Hong Kong's marine police rescued hundred of pets being smuggled by sea from Shenzhen including 136 breeding cats and dogs in cramped cages in May and more than 100 dogs and cats also in cages from a speedboat near Deep Bay in August.
The AFCD revealed that over four years it issued 115 prosecutions for illegal importation of live animals without relevant permits or health certificates, of which 112 were convicted.
But animal activists say that there's only one way to stop the breeding and smuggling, calling on Hongkongers to stop the buying.
PUPPY LOVE: Posts on Little Red Book proclaim ‘Hong Kong-bred’ pets for sale.
