Union urges stronger safety measures as postmen face ongoing dog attack threat

Hong Kong Postal Workers Union has urged the government and Hongkong Post to strengthen frontline worker safety and called on dog owners to exercise strict discipline after a postman was viciously attacked while delivering mail in Mai Po. 

Speaking on a radio program on Wednesday, chairman of the union Cheung Wai-kuen raised concerns about the persistent threat posed by dog attacks to postmen delivering mail in the New Territories. 

He said a postman on a bicycle in Mai Po was ambushed from behind on September 11 as he stepped off his bike near a residence. The dog bit him hard on the upper part of his waist, and when the postman tried to dodge, his left leg was bitten again. The injured postman shouted for help, prompting the owner to appear and pull the dog away. The postman reported the incident to the police and was taken to hospital for treatment.

Over the past decades, Hongkong Post’s anti-dog measures have evolved from safety guidelines, animal-behavior briefings, and Occupational Safety and Health Council training courses to the provision of various protective tools.

Before the 1990s, New Territories postmen carried small pepper sprays, which were later discontinued because their jet distance was only a few feet and they needed to crouch and aim at a dog’s nose to be effective—making them difficult to use and posing risks. The government subsequently listed pepper spray as a hazardous work weapon, leading to an end to distribution.

Subsequent trials around 2004 involving two-foot cane sticks were also rejected as inconvenient and ineffective.

At present, frontline postal workers are left with no protective equipment. 

Although some postmen previously carried their own flexible canes or plastic rods to ward off dogs, Cheung said such items are now rarely used as workers fear dog owners could use security camera footage to accuse them of possessing offensive weapons or threatening their pets.

Cheung stressed that ensuring worker safety ultimately depends on dog owners responsibly leashing and properly securing their animals.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓