“When people realised the animals became ill upon arrival and felt unable to handle the situation for financial or other reasons, some abandoned them. This is very irresponsible.”
Photos posted on the NGO’s Facebook account on Saturday showed abandoned cats with eye illnesses, with some cages containing as many as seven kittens.
The spokeswoman said the conditions smuggled animals were often kept in posed health risks.
She added many were also not properly vaccinated and had a high chance of passing on infectious diseases to other animals.
The spokeswoman added that sellers were much less likely to care about the health of the animals because of the difficulties in returning pets or the absence of post-sale customer service due to the illegal nature of the transactions.
The charity said it had seen a significant drop in adoption rates in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It added people’s lifestyles may have changed because of factors such as emigration or more frequent travel, which made it difficult for people to care for pets.
All the available space for cats at the SPCA were in use and some cats had to be housed in cages for dogs, the spokeswoman added. Similar overcrowding has been noticed recently in other shelters.
The SPCA website lists 57 cats which are ready for adoption. More than 100 are in pet hospitals or with foster families and some are involved in cruelty cases and cannot be rehomed until proceedings are concluded.
The spokeswoman explained that some of the cats in SPCA care were strays from a specific area and the organisation planned to return them after they were neutered.
But others were found to be too ill and had to be put down.
Some on social media have criticised the SPCA for turning away people seeking to adopt pets.
The spokeswoman said the charity was working on striking a balance between the desirability of animal adoption and ensuring suitable matches between pets and owners.
“Some potential adopters are very enthusiastic, but ended up realising they could not handle their pets, which could come with certain ailments,” she explained.
“It happens every month that we have adopters returning their pets to us.
“We hope that anyone who wants to have a pet could adopt. If you must buy, head to a reputable seller and do not purchase online.”
Hong Kong authorities said they seized 101 illegally imported cats and dogs in 2021, 200 in 2022 and 32 in 2023.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has also set up a special investigation team to combat the sale of smuggled cats and dogs through social media platforms.
The department also pledged to work closely with mainland authorities on intelligence exchange.
