FEHD responds to media enquiries on application eligibility and operational status of permitted food premises allowing dogs to enter
In response to media enquiries regarding the application eligibility and operational status of permitted food premises allowing dogs to enter, a spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) gave the following response on July 10:
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Photo source: reference image
Applicants have sole responsibility to confirm that the premises permits the entry of dogs
The FEHD has clearly required in the application forms that applicants must confirm that the premises in which their food premises operates permits the entry of dogs and declare the information submitted is true. The FEHD solemnly points out that if applicants are found to have provided false information, they may bear legal liability.
The FEHD reiterated that, as the rules governing the use of various premises (including permission for dogs entry) are subject to relevant provisions in tenancy agreement, property titles and deeds of mutual covenant, restaurant operators have responsibility to, and must clarify the fact with property stakeholders, and reach a consensus on whether to permit the entry of dogs before submitting applications to the FEHD.
The FEHD respects the legal rights and decisions of property stakeholders. Should the FEHD discover, after an application has been submitted or approved, that the applicant has provided incorrect information and that the premises where the food premises is located do not in fact permit the entry of dogs, the FEHD will take decisive action to suspend processing of the relevant application or revoke the permission granted. To assist the industry in accurately understanding the relevant requirements, the FEHD has previously organised a number of briefing sessions. The department will also maintain communication with restaurant operators and property stakeholders, and provide appropriate assistance whilst ensuring compliance.
Operational status of the permitted food premises
As for the enquiries from the media regarding a few of food premises on the "List of Food Premises Permitted for Dog Entry" were found to have closed down or did not even exist, the FEHD clarified that the information was not align with the information obtained by the department. The FEHD verified the operational status of the applying food premises from two perspectives:
1. The licences of all the participating food premises were valid at the event of the open ballot.
2. A dedicated team from the FEHD visited each approved establishment. Even where a restaurant was not open for business at the time, the team proactively contacted the licence holders to confirm that they still required such permission before issuing the permits.
The FEHD pointed out that, it is a normal market occurrence for individual restaurants to find themselves in different operational situations due to business considerations; for example, they may be closed for renovation works, whilst licence transfer procedures are underway, or because staff are on leave, or they may even have ceased operations for any reason. Should an approved restaurant decide to cease operation permanently, withdraw the application for the relevant permit, or apply to revoke the permission, the FEHD respects the operator's commercial decision. Their quotas will be allocated to the applicants on the waiting list in the order determined by the earlier ballot results. Once all procedures have been completed, the details of the newly added food premises will be promptly updated and uploaded to the dedicated webpage (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/licensing/dog_restaurants/index.html) to facilitate public search and selection.
Photo source: AP News
