Amendments to animal welfare Bill detailed

Vimita Mohandas Channel NewsAsia 27 Oct 14;

SINGAPORE: The Animal Welfare Legislation Review Committee on Monday (Oct 27) spelt out details to the amendments it made to the Private Member's Bill. The Bill aims to set new animal welfare standards for individuals and businesses in Singapore, and engender greater responsibility among pet owners.

Penalties were detailed for individuals and animal related businesses. For example, individuals who fail to provide care for their animals may face a maximum penalty of S$20,000 or two years' jail, or both, while animal-related businesses may face a maximum fine of S$100,000 or three years' jail, or both.

For cruelty to animals, individuals can face a maximum fine of up to S$30,000 or three years' jail, or both, while animal related businesses face a maximum fine of S$100,000 or three years' jail, or both.

To educate individuals and those in the animal business about animal welfare, a code will be released.

KEEPING A CLOSER EYE ON PET OWNERS

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) will also be given the power to issue written directives to a pet owner to ensure that the welfare if the animal is safeguarded. Enhancements to enforcement powers include the power to take photographs, audio and video recordings. And unlike current standards, the crime need not be committed in the presence of enforcement officers.

This means AVA can act upon complaints from neighbours or other members of the community.

"Right now, it's a little bit archaic within the Act because an act of cruelty needs to happen in front of the eyes of an enforcement officer before action can be taken," said MP Alex Yam, a member of the review committee. "Now the powers of investigations are provided to AVA to undertake different aspects of investigation - whether it's interviewing neighbours, eyewitnesses and reviewing other evidence to prove a case." Mr Yam said this also gives the defendant the flexibility to prove his case.

The amendments also spell out that the owner must take reasonable steps to ensure, for example, adequate and suitable food, water and shelter for the animal. The owners must also take reasonable efforts to recover a missing animal.

"Having a dog within the house, kept within a very nice cage or nice area and fed very well - that may be our way of saying 'I'm actually looking after it very well and it seems very happy'. But every pet needs its time out in the open and needs to be walked," said Mr Yam.

Formed in April 2012, the Animal Welfare Legislation Review Committee was set up to review and recommend to the Government amendments to strengthen legislation on animal welfare.

The committee is chaired by Member of Parliament Yeo Guat Kwang, with MPs Gan Thiam Poh and Vikram Nair making up the rest of the committee. Their recommendations were submitted to the Ministry of National Development in March 2013, and accepted in April 2013.

In a blogpost on Friday, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the MPs "made history" when they tabled the Animals and Birds (Amendment) Bill for first reading in Parliament this month.

"It will set new animal welfare standards for individuals and businesses in Singapore, and engender greater responsibility among pet owners. It will also update the penalties for convicted acts of animal cruelty," Mr Khaw wrote.

- CNA/av/ac

Working group to look into standardised training for animal handlers
SIAU MING EN Today Online 28 Oct 14;

SINGAPORE — Animal-related businesses will have up to two years to comply with a new requirement under proposed changes to laws on animal welfare that calls for their staff to be trained and certified in animal care and handling.

To ensure standardised training and accreditation in this area, discussions are ongoing with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to come up with a course.

In addition, a working group formed by the Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Committee (MSCC) — which arose from recommendations by the Animal Welfare Legislation Review Committee (AWLRC) — is also looking into expanding an existing animal care and handling programme at Temasek Polytechnic. The working group is also reviewing the existing curriculum and will work with stakeholders to ensure that there are sufficient training facilities and places.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, AWLRC chairman Yeo Guat Kwang suggested that businesses be given a one- to two-year grace period to meet the training requirements after the Animals and Birds (Amendment) Bill is passed.

Should there be a standardised training course, MSCC chair Alex Yam said it could cover topics such as animal health and first aid.

Among the proposed changes to the animal welfare legislation — which were tabled as a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament earlier this month — is one that requires animal handlers at businesses such as pet groomers, pet hotels, wildlife attractions and animal welfare groups to hold qualifications or be trained in animal care and handling.

Currently, only operators, managers and staff of pet retail outlets and dog farms are required to attend compulsory structured training in pet animal management and welfare.

A Temasek Polytechnic spokesperson said about 300 people have attended their Pet Care and Management (Companion Animal) course since it was introduced in 2010. About 90 per cent of participants were pet retailers.

Pet groomers whom TODAY spoke to felt the new requirement would give customers peace of mind that their pets are well-cared for.

Mr Aaron Wong of pet resort and spa Goldie and Lab noted that even without certification, most businesses do treat animals properly, as the sector is dependent on feedback and reviews from customers.

Mr Yeo also addressed queries on why the proposed penalties were lower than the initial AWLRC recommendations. Last year, they had called for a maximum fine of S$50,000 and/or a three-year jail term to be imposed on repeat offenders. However, under the proposed penalties for animal cruelty, repeat offenders can be fined up to S$30,000 and/or given a jail term of three years. Animal-related businesses can be fined up to S$100,000 and/or given a three-year jail term.

“When we came up with this penalty, we tried to adjust it accordingly by ensuring that the penalty is maintained proportionally ... to the other existing legislations for human offences,” said Mr Yeo.

Asked about why the definitions of animal cruelty were not adjusted to consider the psychological stress an animal could have faced, Mr Yam said it was hard to prove psychological trauma in animals and there had not been any science at the moment to explicitly detect such stress in animals.

The Bill will be debated in Parliament on Monday.

Details of proposed animal law unveiled
David Ee The Straits Times AsiaOne 30 Oct 14;

Animal-related businesses would be given time to ensure that their staff meet the new training requirements under proposed laws for better animal welfare.

A grace period of one to two years would allow animal handlers at these businesses, such as pet grooming services, pet hotels and horse-riding schools, to meet the requirements.

The leeway would give these businesses more time to prepare themselves, said Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC, at a media briefing yesterday to provide more details about the Bill. Mr Yeo and his fellow MPs - Mr Alex Yam, Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Mr Edwin Tong and Mr Vikram Nair - had tabled the Private Member's Bill in Parliament earlier this month.

Among the proposed amendments to the Animals and Birds Act is a requirement for staff working with animals in relevant businesses to be trained in animal care and handling. The precise training requirements will be published at a later date, said Mr Yeo.

He added that a panel formed by the Government last year to strengthen collaboration for animal welfare will work with the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to standardise the training and raise the number of training providers.

The Bill also requires those in charge of animals, including pet owners, animal shelters and animal fosterers, to ensure reasonable care for them. Those who neglect their animals will, for the first time, face a fine of up to $20,000 and/or a two-year jail term.

Animal abusers will face fines of up to $30,000 and/or a three- year jail term, up from fines of up to $10,000 and/or a one-year jail term.

Animal-related businesses that contravene the proposed law face fines of up to $100,000 and/or a three-year jail term, up from up to $10,000 in fines and/or a one-year jail term.

Under the Bill, enforcement officers would be able to refer to any photographic, audio or video evidence to investigate animal cruelty offences. Previously, they had to have witnessed the offence.

The proposed penalties are lower than those recommended by a panel chaired by Mr Yeo and set up by the Government in 2012 to review animal welfare laws.

Mr Yam, an MP for Choa Chu Kang GRC, explained that this was to keep the penalties for animal cruelty proportional to those for similar offences against people. "(For) an act of cruelty to an animal, it's very hard... to say it warrants a higher fine or summon or penalty than a similar act to a human," he said.

The Bill will be debated in Parliament on Monday.