Hong Kong gov’t to approve dog-friendly restaurant permits mid-2026

2026-01-29 - 23:38

The Hong Kong government has announced that pet dogs will be allowed in some restaurants as early as mid-2026. Hong Kong Free Press news hound Pixel. Photo: Tom Grundy/HKFP. Tse Chin-wan, secretary for environment and ecology, told the Legislative Council (LegCo) on Thursday that authorities would approve the first batch of applications allowing pet dogs in restaurants in the middle of the year. The minister also said that in the first half of 2026, the government would speed up the application process for outdoor seating at restaurants. Tse said the new policy would help the catering industry explore more business opportunities whilst giving consumers more options. During his 2025 Policy Address in September, Chief Executive John Lee unveiled a plan to relax an outdated policy banning dogs in restaurants. Under the current Food Business Regulation, people are not allowed to bring dogs into food premises, with the exception of guide dogs. Offenders can face a fine of up to HK$10,000 and imprisonment for three months. The decades-old rule sparked controversy in January 2025 after a pet-friendly restaurant in Tai Po had to suspend operations for seven days for allowing dogs inside, local media reported. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan meets the press on January 26, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Tse said in April last year that the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department received a total of 1,366 complaints related to dogs in restaurants from 2020 to 2024 and brought 17 prosecutions. Pet-friendly policies have been introduced in the city in recent years. Since September, the MTR Corporation (MTRC) has allowed passengers to take cats and dogs on its light rail trains on weekends and public holidays. For the first time, dogs will be allowed to travel on MTR trains on March 1, as part of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (SPCA) Dogathon event.