Task force to review pet ownership policies

Janice Tai Straits Times 12 Jul 11;

THE question of whether cats can be kept in Housing Board (HDB) flats will be among the issues tackled by an inter-agency task force led by the Ministry of National Development (MND).

The task force, which includes senior officials from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and the HDB, will begin work this month to review pet ownership and stray animal management policies.

The work, which will take four months, will focus on some key concerns and issues related to dogs and cats.

Currently, the HDB does not allow cats to be kept in its flats, and allows only one dog of an approved small breed per residential unit.

The announcement of the review by Minister of State for National Development Tan Chuan-Jin yesterday comes about a month after a June 2 blog post by Mr Khaw Boon Wan.

The National Development Minister wrote then that he had asked the AVA to review its practice of culling stray cats.

He also tasked Brigadier-General (NS) Tan with working with the AVA, animal welfare groups and residents to 'forge a compassionate and mature approach' to the problem.

Speaking on the sidelines of his first official visit to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) yesterday, BG Tan said the impetus for the review came from the fact that pet ownership has gone up significantly over the years. The number of dog licences issued has increased from about 56,000 in 2008 to 59,000 last year.

Cats do not need to be licensed.

'So, I think it is important to now start focusing on going into a lot more details about the policies involved,' said BG Tan, who was at the SPCA to understand more about the work of the country's oldest animal welfare charity.

Noting that there had been tensions between animal lovers and others who may find animals a nuisance, he added: 'I think it is important for us to find out how to create a common space for people. It is not really about animals per se; it is really about the common space, the living environment that our people live in.'

The AVA received about 3,500 and 2,900 complaints on stray cats and stray dogs respectively last year.

The review will collect feedback from residents, town councils and animal welfare groups.

In addition, from this month, the AVA will pilot a Stray Cat Sterilisation Programme as an alternative means of managing the problem. It is a collaboration between the AVA, participating town councils and the Cat Welfare Society (CWS).

It will be carried out in specific zones under Sembawang-Nee Soon, Tampines, Ang Mo Kio and Marine Parade town councils.

The AVA will subsidise 50 per cent of sterilisation costs - up to $30 for male cats and $60 for females - and $20 to microchip the animal.

CWS will chip in with $10 for each cat, and the remaining amount will be borne by the caregiver - the person who feeds the cat and takes it for sterilisation.

The SPCA will subsidise 50 per cent of the sterilisation costs in the MacPherson division in Marine Parade.

The AVA had previously worked with animal welfare groups and town councils under a Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme to control the numbers through sterilisation and care of the sterilised animal by volunteers.

This scheme was terminated in 2003 as there was no reduction in the number of strays or complaints.

Animal welfare groups welcome the move to review policies.

'We have always believed that sterilisation was the more humane and effective approach to significantly reducing the stray cat population. Culling over decades has proven ineffective,' said Ms Deirdre Moss, outgoing executive director of SPCA.

Groups like CWS and Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (Acres) are happy that the public will be consulted, and that various agencies are working together in this review.

Mr Louis Ng, executive director of Acres, said: 'Members of the public want to be engaged in the policy formulation. The subsidy from AVA also helps to remove a huge burden for us so that more cats can be sterilised.'

It was also announced yesterday that the SPCA will be relocating in about three years to a 0.8ha site in Sungei Tengah.

The new site is double the size of its current Mount Vernon facility, which can house about 180 animals.

Taskforce to look into pet ownership, stray animal policies
Sara Grosse, Chitra Kumar Channel NewsAsia 11 Jul 11;

SINGAPORE: An inter-agency taskforce has been formed to conduct a four-month review that focuses on current pet ownership and stray animal management policies.

The taskforce comprises officials from the National Development Ministry (MND), the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

It will meet this month to discuss key concerns and issues related to cats and dogs.

The task force will gather feedback from Town Councils, residents and animal welfare groups.

Minister of State for National Development and Manpower, BG Tan Chuan-Jin, said: "It's important for us to figure out how to create a common space for people. So it's not really about animals per se, it's about the common space, the living environment that all of our people live in. As you know, in HDB flats, we all live in very close proximity."

Bank analyst Rufus Chan, 29, who currently does not own a pet, said: "I am not troubled by whatever concerns non-pet owners may have because animals are part of nature and have become a way of my life.

"I recently read they're looking to allow cats to be kept in HDB flats. I mean what took them so long to look into such matters?"

As part of the review, AVA will pilot a Stray Cat Sterilisation Programme (SCSP) as an alternative way of managing stray cats. AVA will subsidise 50 per cent of sterilisation costs and S$20 to microchip the cats.

This project is a joint collaboration between AVA, the town councils and the Cat Welfare Society. This is to better address issues such as abandoned pets, which contribute to the problem of stray cats.

It is also a move welcomed by the SPCA, which sees the number of stray cats it takes in decreasing due to sterilisation.

SPCA's Executive Director, Deirdre Moss, said: "If it picks up, and with government support, I think in the next few years you will see an even further drop, which means less animals need to be put down."

During the SARS period, AVA ceased sterilising cats. Since then, sterilisation was carried out with support from the Cat Welfare Society's reimbursement scheme and SPCA's sterilisation voucher scheme.

It is now important to bring the programme back, as there has been a surge in pet ownership. The programme will initially be carried out with the town councils of Sembawang-Nee Soon, Tampines, Ang Mo Kio and Marine Parade.

And town councils said they are willing to work with any organisation to ensure cats that have been sterilised, are later adopted.

Commenting on the Stray Cat Sterilisation Programme, cat owner Siti Abdullah, 25, said: "You can't go out and sterilise all the stray cats out there. There is a need to exercise a level of control.

"Unless there are too many stray cats in a particular neighbourhood and those residents call for such a SCSP programme to be implemented, there's no need to implement this programme. If the neighbourhood is happy living with stray cats, then focus on caring for them - like food and medical care."

- CNA/cc/ac/ck

Good move to set up animal task force
Straits Times 19 Jul 11;

LESS than a month after the first public forum on animal welfare policies in Singapore was held, the Ministry of National Development (MND) announced last Monday that it plans to form an inter-agency task force to review current pet ownership and stray animal management policies ('Task force to review pet ownership policies'; last Tuesday).

This is testament to the success of the forum organised by the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society, as well as MND's leadership in addressing public concerns by constructive dialogue.

The review will involve different stakeholders, from senior MND officials to residents. This is a departure from the way policies were developed and represents a move towards public engagement and more informed policymaking.

The review's ultimate objective of creating 'a conducive shared living environment for everyone' also shows MND's appreciation of the role animals - strays or pets - play towards a happier and more liveable society.

The inability of animals to communicate their suffering in words imposes on humans a higher moral obligation to discern their cries for help.

Mahatma Gandhi once said that the true nature of a community is revealed in the way it treats its animals. MND's commitment to have an extensive review of pet ownership and stray animal management policies represents a positive step.

Daisy Chee (Ms)