Evelyn Lam, Lynda Hong Channel NewsAsia 12 Jul 11;
SINGAPORE: The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said the number of animal abuse cases it handled this year went up by 10 per cent, as compared to last year.
And the number of animal abuse complaints last month reached a six-month high of 90.
SPCA also deals with an average of 600 abandoned animals every month.
But its current home can only house 180 animals.
SPCA's upcoming home in Sungei Tengah will have the capacity for more abandoned animals.
Bigger space also means higher overheads and the SPCA already exceeds its budget by S$2 million every year.
More volunteers will also be needed.
The number of animals adopted from the SPCA has remained steady at 85 animals a month.
SPCA does not expect the number of animals adopted from its shelter to change, as animal welfare groups have to compete with pet shops for potential pet owners.
Deirdre Moss, outgoing executive director of SPCA, said: "I think the adoption rate has been pretty stable for the past couple of years, or few years.
"Actually, I don't think it's going to increase greatly as long as we have so many pet shops selling animals.
"There's no limit on commercial breeding, and so animal welfare groups, in general, have to compete with these establishments."
And to prevent owners from abandoning pets, SPCA is looking to introduce new services when its Sungei Tengah home is operational.
Deirdre Moss said: "If they have a problem with their pets, maybe they can come in and consult us.
"In future, I hope we are going to have canine behavioural counsellors and in-house dog obedience trainers, where we want to provide solutions for people, who are thinking of giving up their pets or struggling to discipline their pets in terms of training.
"We would like to be a resource and we would like to offer it as a service."
- CNA/ck
