The Hong Kong government has announced that pet dogs will be allowed in some restaurants as early as mid-2026. 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. During his 2025 Policy Address in September, Chief Executive John Lee unveiled a plan to relax an outdated policy banning dogs in restaurants.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. 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.