Emus lurking on the loose in Yuen Long

Owners of a farm in Lau Fau Shan were successfully able to recover all their runaway emus on Thursday morning after they were accidentally let loose two days ago.

Around 9 a.m. today, the giant sized birds were found near the areas of Kai Pak Ling Road and Fung Kong Tsuen Road, leading onlookers to contact the police for assistance.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) was called to the scene to assess the situation and confirmed that the creatures were Australian emus.

The three giant beasts on the loose were all adults with their height ranging from 1.5 to 1.8 meters. They were from a farm in Lau Fau Shan, and all had permits.

Staff from the farm said that two days ago, volunteers were suspected to have forgotten to close the gates, which allowed the three emus to make their great escape.

The first two emus were found in the middle of the road and were taken back to their owners.

The last emu was found by a villager surnamed Wu at around 7 am today in the drains. She had provided it with water before contacting the SPCA in fear that it might get attacked by stray dogs.

The owner then came to catch the last loose emu with some difficulty before taking it back to the farm.

Emus are the second largest living bird in the world, second only to the ostrich, and is featured in the Australian national emblem.

Although emus are not endangered animals, their importation into Hong Kong for breeding requires a permit issued by the AFCD.

According to "Public Health (Animals and Birds) Regulations" the AFCD controls the import of birds and animals into Hong Kong to prevent the introduction of animal diseases.