Hong Kong pet owners have called for environmental authorities to place rat poison in boxes instead of hanging them in transparent bags, with one owner saying his dog had to visit the veterinarian three times in recent months after accidentally consuming pellets that spilled from broken bags onto the pavement.

In response to queries by the South China Morning Post, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said rodenticides were used “only when warranted”, and had adjusted the placement of some baits and replaced bagged baits with bait boxes.

Matt Quaife, owner of a two-year-old Labrador, Amfy, said the dog had to be rushed to the veterinarian three times in the past three months because she accidentally ingested rat poison left by the department.

The visits cost Quaife, 40, a total of HK$10,000 (US$1,300).

The first incident occurred last Christmas, when he and Amfy were walking between Repulse Bay and Deep Water Bay, and the dog ate pellets that had spilled onto the pavement from a damaged bag of poison.

“The walkway is right next to the water where hundreds of dogs go every day, and they just tied the bags on the railing at the side of the walkway,” Quaife said.