Hong Kong Pet Show: Animal activists don prop oxygen masks to protest flat-faced dog breeds, urge adoption
Hong Kong Free Press
Animal activists staged a protest outside the Hong Kong Pet Show on Thursday urging the public to adopt dogs and avoid pedigree breeds from breeders and pet stores.
Donning dog costumes, pug and bulldog masks, and wielding prop oxygen tanks, they said that fashionable flat-faced breeds suffer from “grotesquely distorted airways.”
Such breeding results in canines that “pant, snort, wheeze, and struggle to breathe — all to satisfy humans’ desire for a certain look,” a Wednesday press release from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said.
Supporters of the US charity gathered outside Wan Chai’s Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday afternoon, where the Exhibition Group’s 2025 Pet Show – sponsored by CSL – is taking place. Over 1,000 booths are hosting 400 exhibitors until Sunday.
“Would-be animal guardians need to know that flat-faced dogs will be unable to chase a ball or enjoy a walk without gasping for air, and many will die prematurely,” PETA’s Asia Senior Vice President Jason Baker said in the press release.
“PETA condemns the cruel glamorisation of breathing-impaired breeds and urges everyone to adopt from their local animal shelter, which will help keep more pugs, boxers, and bulldogs from being brought into this world only to suffer,” he added.
According to PETA, Norway, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands have banned or restricted the breeding of some or all flat-faced dogs.
The pet expo involves a cat show, a Dog Olympics event, a Pet Cultural and Creative Zone, and an Animal Diversity Life Pavilion.
Founded in 1980, PETA is a Virginia-based non-profit that “opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.”
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title {
font-size: 1.2em;
}
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
align-items: center;
margin-top: 0.5em;
}
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta {
font-size: 0.8em;
}
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar {
height: 25px;
width: 25px;
}
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail{
margin: 0;
margin-bottom: 0.25em;
}
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail img {
height: auto;
width: 100%;
}
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .post-thumbnail figcaption {
margin-bottom: 0.5em;
}
.wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles p {
margin: 0.5em 0;
}
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.