Hong Kong Does Not Issue Official Pet Identity Cards
The Claim
In Hong Kong, pets can get an official permanent residence card which includes a lifetime monthly salary for food and health insurance.
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Emerging story
The claim first went viral in 2019, with newer versions of the post being shared as recently as July 2021.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar concluded that the Hong Kong permanent pet identity card featured in the viral post is not an official form of identification. The kitty ID card featured in the image is a decal sticker that’s available through a Hong Kong business’s Facebook page. The novelty cards were also featured in a list of the 10 perfect Christmas gifts for pet owners on Localiiz, a Hong Kong website.
The ID card decals are designed to look like the official Hong Kong identity cards. They are created as a fun decoration to fit over an Octopus card. Octopus cards are contactless stored value cards that allow Hong Kong customers to pay for public transport.
Hong Kong does require that dog owners license their pets. However, dog licenses are paper documents and not ID cards. Additionally, we found no evidence that pet food and health insurance are subsidized by the government in Hong Kong. On a government website, a checklist of things to consider before getting a pet informs prospective pet owners that they’re responsible for taking care of their animal for its entire life.
