Cats in HDB flats: Don't punish responsible pet owners

Straits Times Forum 2 Jan 09;

SOME months ago, a friend told me an HDB officer had passed her flat and noticed a cat sitting on the sofa in her living room. He whipped out a camera, snapped some photographs and threatened her with a fine. He also asked her to 'remove' the cat.

My friend moved to a private apartment where there are no rules prohibiting cats as pets. Soon after she moved, her former neighbours saw two HDB officers knocking on her door, armed with a camera and two big bags, presumably to remove the cats.

Are HDB officers allowed to remove cats? I understand from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) that only pest controllers are authorised to remove cats to the AVA.

The HDB should review the archaic rule banning cats. It is not cats that cause nuisance but owners who do not practise pet responsibility. Fine irresponsible owners who do not keep their cats indoors, do not sterilise their cats or abandon them. Similarly, it is not dogs that are irresponsible but their owners who do not clear up their mess in public, do not leash their dogs in public or do not 'obedience-train' dogs that bark day and night.

Dr Tan Chek Wee