Channel NewsAsia 25 Feb 12;
SINGAPORE: The Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for National Development is setting up a work-group to review animal welfare policies in Singapore.
GPC member Yeo Guat Kwang said this on the sidelines of an animal welfare forum on Saturday.
One forum in Chong Pang estate is becoming an annual affair for animal lovers.
It started in 2011 when the constituency announced a sterilisation programme for stray cats.
It's part of the growing feedback on animal issues that's moved the parliamentary committee into action.
Mr Yeo said: "Even as MPs, (we can see that for example) in HDB housing estates, we also receive feedback from residents where they have dispute with neighbours because of some noise nuisance created by the pet owners. Some actually have issues with stray cats. It's good that now we get relevant agencies together with animal welfare groups to come together and see what we can do to address these concerns residents have.
"In the community, it's important that we look at the whole thing in full perspective so it's important that we involve all stakeholders, not just only the animal welfare groups."
Mr Yeo said town councils and pet traders should be included in the discussion to effectively address pet abandonment and strays, for example.
He said: "It's also important that we now review some of the regulations and legislation to see how we can update it and make it more relevant. At GPC level, we're able to do better coordination, bring in all the relevant agencies and stakeholders together for a more constructive discussion moving forward."
Local groups said the animal protection movement has come a long way in the past two years.
They see progress in ongoing discussions with the National Development Ministry and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.
One of the proposals under discussion right now is to build a national adoption centre for stray dogs and cats and to make it easier for Singaporeans to adopt them.
Animal welfare group ACRES Executive Director Louis Ng, said: "We've looked into it and we realise there is a bottleneck at the current shelters in Singapore. We've all heard about the Punggol strays and there were a lot of efforts to re-home them but we realised that the shelters were full."
Apart from relieving the space crunch, animal groups said a dedicated centre will also push adoption rates up for Singapore's stray dogs and cats.
- CNA/fa
A national adoption centre for stray cats & dogs?
Qiuyi Tan Channel NewsAsia 25 Feb 12;
SINGAPORE: Animal welfare group - ACRES - said discussions are underway for a national adoption centre in Singapore that will shelter and re-home stray cats and dogs.
Making the announcement at an animal welfare forum, ACRES Executive Director Louis Ng said details of the proposals from animal welfare groups are currently being reviewed by the National Development Ministry.
Channel NewsAsia understands the centre is expected to be run by Action for Singapore Dogs and the Animal Lovers League if it gets the go ahead.
A national adoption centre is expected to relieve the space crunch that animal rescue and welfare groups are facing, and push adoption rates up.
Mr Ng said all animal shelters in Singapore are currently full.
- CNA/ck
A national pet adoption centre?
Also in the works, a workgroup to review animal welfare policies here
Lin Yanqin Today Online 26 Feb 12;
SINGAPORE - As animal lovers and Government agencies gathered yesterday at a public forum to discuss animal welfare, several proposals were revealed to be under consideration by the Government to better safeguard animal welfare.
Among them is the setting up a National Adoption Centre for animals, a recommendation the Government is "supportive" of, to be managed by the Animal Lovers League (ALL) and Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD).
Speaking at the Singapore Animal Welfare Symposium held yesterday - which drew some 600 participants and guest-of-honour Law Minister K Shanmugam - Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES) executive director Louis Ng said such a dedicated community facility would "support and encourage adoption in a way that benefits the animals and the community".
"Many animal shelters at the moment are full," Mr Ng said. "We hope this shelter can expand capacity, and also allow various groups to come together and share resources more efficiently."
Parliamentarians too are getting into the act, with Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for National Development member Yeo Guat Kwang announcing on the sidelines of the forum that the GPC will be setting up a work-group to review and update animal welfare policies in Singapore.
This has been prompted by the growing wave of feedback on animal issues."As MPs ... we receive feedback from (HDB) residents where they have disputes with neighbours because of some noise nuisance created by pet owners," Mr Yeo told Channel NewsAsia.
"It's good that now we get relevant agencies and animal welfare groups to come together and see what we can do to address these concerns residents have." He added that it was important to include all other stakeholders, such as town councils and pet traders, to effectively address the issues of pet abandonment and strays.
MEASURES TO TRACK ERRANT OWNERS
Other proposals cited yesterday include the AVA looking into mandating all pet shops and farms to license dogs at the point of sale. "This will make it easier to track down errant owners when we find abandoned dogs," said Action for Singapore Dogs president Ricky Yeo, speaking to Today.
A national microchip database will be established to enable better tracking of information and owners of abandoned pets.
Also being considered by the AVA is a licensing requirement for individual commercial breeders instead of the current blanket license to the main farm owner, to address the issue of "puppy mills". And in response to recommendations from animal welfare groups, the AVA is looking into arrangements for such groups to accompany AVA officers during inspections of dog farms.
ACRES is also calling for more feedback on possible amendments for AVA's review of the Animals and Birds Act to further strengthen animal protection legislation.
ASD's Mr Yeo said the idea of a National Adoption Centre was mooted in hopes of easing the cost burden of non-profits. "Operating costs are high because we pay commercial rentals," he said. "The centre allows some of us to pool resources and facilities, while also providing a platform for public education on responsible pet ownership."
Ms Lee Siew Ying, who shelters some 100 cats and a few dogs at her refuge MettaCats, said such a centre might be useful for some, but felt it was unnecessary for all shelters to move towards consolidation. "I get to be very hands-on with my shelter ... I can be very strict with every person who comes in wanting to adopt a cat. I require a home visit for every adoption.
"With my own facilities, I'm not in a hurry to find the cats a home." ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY QIUYI TAN
Other issues addressed
FATE OF ARMY, POLICE DOGS
On concerns over the fate of Singapore Armed Forces and Singapore Police Force service dogs, ACRES' Louis Ng said military dogs not adopted after retirement will be cared for at the SAF kennels for the rest of their lives, and not be put to sleep as thought by many. The SPF too holds adoption drives and works closely with groups like Gentle Paws to ensure that all dogs suitable for adoption are rehomed.
MANAGING MACAQUES
The National Parks Board is working with the AVA to consider alternative population management control measures for macaques in parks besides culling, such as sterilisation, said Mr Ng. Concerns arose after media reports of attacks by macaques on park visitors quoted some members of the public calling for culling.
HUMANE CAPTURE OF STRAYS
The AVA is not using the services of dog catcher Francis Lee, who was last year fined for the death of a dog that was strangled after being caught in a noose trap, Mr Ng clarified. Mr Lee's had dog-catching methods come under fire from animal lovers. Mr Ng noted that the AVA, with the SPCA, has set out guidelines on the humane capture of strays, which the animal control firms it engages must comply with. The guidelines will be published on its website.
Government to tackle pet welfare
Task force to be set up to push for more responsible ownership of dogs and cats
Judith Tan Straits Times 26 Feb 12;
A task force will be set up to look into the matter of responsible pet ownership, and how the well-being of cats and dogs can be further improved.
The team will come under the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for National Development.
Speaking to The Sunday Times yesterday, GPC member Yeo Guat Kwang said the task force will study the situation and come up with 'concrete recommendations, hopefully to change policies and regulations on the issues by the end of this year'.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the Singapore Animal Welfare Symposium and Public Forum on Animal Welfare Policies, held at Chong Pang Community Club.
The event, attended by more than 400 people, is the second such public forum on animal welfare. The first was held in June last year.
Giving a report card on what the outcomes of the inaugural meeting were, Mr Louis Ng, founder and executive director of Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (Acres), announced the setting up of a national adoption centre, where people can adopt strays and rescued animals.
The Ministry for National Development is currently reviewing the setting up of this centre, to be managed by ASD (Action for Singapore Dogs) and ALL (Animal Lovers' League), he said.
Suggestions made at the first conference also threw up long-term solutions such as the licensing of individual dog breeders instead of the current blanket licence to the main pet farm owners.
'This will guarantee responsibility and more humane treatment of breeding dogs,' Mr Ng said.
He said the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) will be making it mandatory for pet shops to license dogs at the point of sale.
'That is, at the puppy's second vaccination and microchipping... the licence is transferred to the owner when the dog is sold,' he said.
A national microchip database will be established, where pets are registered in an integrated database to enable tracking and easy identification of owners of abandoned pets, he said, adding that the details will need to be worked out.
Mr Yeo said one key concern to be looked at by the GPC task force will be the HDB ruling on allowing only small breeds of dogs in its flats.
But Mr Yeo, who is also an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, pointed out that small breeds like the Jack Russell terrier are unsuitable for small homes.
He said it is important that some of the regulations and legislation are reviewed from time to time to see how they can be updated and made more relevant.
Law and Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam, who was at the forum in his capacity as the MP for the area, said: 'Any responsible society, any civilised society, should be judged by how it treats its animals.'
But he also felt a balance had to be struck between pet lovers and those who may not be keen on animals.
He said the number of people who asked him why he spent time and energy on animal issues 'is not insignificant'. Citing the example of the cat welfare programme in Chong Pang, he said he had to overcome much resistance.
'Even today, I would not say that the majority of the people openly support the programme. They may not be opposed to it but it does not mean they fully support it. As an elected representative, I have to balance these competing interests,' he said.
National microchip database for dogs to be set up
Angelina Dass AsiaOne 25 Feb 12;
In a bid to curb the abandonment of pet dogs in Singapore, a national microchip database will soon be set up.
Announced at the Singapore Animal Welfare Symposium and Public Forum on Animal Welfare Polices today, the database will allow the tracking of pet dogs, and facilitate the identification of owners who abandon their animals.
Commending the move as absolutely essential, Nee Soon GRC MP Mr K. Shanmugam, who delivered the keynote speech at the event, said it is testimony that Singapore is progressing in the animal protection movement.
Held at Chong Pang Community Club, the one-day forum saw 500 members of the public and 100 members of animal welfare groups turn up.
The forum served as an opportunity to enhance animal welfare in Singapore. Issues like animal protection legislation, humane domestic animal management, wildlife crime and zoo animal welfare concerns were discussed.
Mr Louis Ng, executive director of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), said the move for a national database comes after receiving feedback from local animal welfare groups from the first forum which was held in June last year.
Many abandoned dogs which were rescued were micro-chipped but the information was not uploaded into any registry. As a result, the owners were not tracked down.
Mr Ricky Yeo, President of Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) said there are currently at least four existing registries including those owned by ASD, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals', Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) and Pet-call.
Together with the national microchip database, the AVA will also implement licensing all dogs at the point of sale and during the second vaccination procedure and micro-chipping.
This means that once the pet is sold the license will be transferred from AVA to the owners.
"What we are going to do is nationalise it and make one integrated database, from now on, all of them will be registered in one database rather than different databases," said Mr Ng. "If you abandon, with one database we will track you down", he added. Singapore's current penalty for pet abandonment is up to $10,000, 12 months jail or both.
