83% of local pet farms do not provide basic welfare for animals: ACRES

This means not ensuring the length of the cage to be at least two times the length of the animal from nose to base of tail, and for the width be at least one-and-a-half times the length of animal, says the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES).
Elizabeth Goh, Channel NewsAsia 20 May 15;

SINGAPORE: A majority of pet farms and some pet shops in Singapore exhibit poor practices, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) said on Wednesday (May 20).

According to ACRES, 38 per cent of pet shops and 83 per cent of the farms did not provide the most basic welfare required. This means having the length of the cage to be at least two times the length of the animal from nose to base of tail, the width be at least one-and-a-half times the length of animal, and the height to allow the animal to comfortably stand upright on its hind legs.

Additionally, 21 out of 29 pet shops breached one or more of the 10 criteria that was used for assessment. Only eight pet shops were observed to have complied with all criteria, the findings showed.

These conditions are pet shop requirements under the Pet Shop Licence Conditions Display and Sale of Cats, the press release said. Some of these conditions include having no pregnant or nursing animals on display and clean drinking water to be provided at all times.

The findings were released after a two-month undercover investigation comprising ACRES staff and volunteers between March and May. Forty-one shops that sold dogs and/or cats were sampled. These comprised of all 25 pet shops licenced by Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), four pet shops not included in AVA's list and 12 randomly selected farms.

AVA PET SHOP GRADING SCHEME NEEDS REVIEWING

The report also said 7 of the 11 pet shops that breached one of more of the most basic animal welfare conditions received an A grade under AVA's Pet Shop Grading Scheme.

"This intimates that the grading system, or the implementation thereof, may need to be reviewed," ACRES said.

As for pet farms, ACRES suggested that farms should be graded, and the public be allowed to view their breeding facilities, to enable consumers to make informed decisions.

"I think a grading system for farms is one step forward. They also sell live animals, so there should not be any disparity between them and pet shops," said Ms Anbarasi Boopal, Group Director of ACRES.

"Once this grading is provided, consumers would be made more aware and it would also be easier to enforce animal welfare requirements by the AVA," she added.

ACRES has provided their results to AVA, which has received its feedback. ACRES hopes to work closely with AVA as it follows up on the findings.

"We encourage the public to be the check and balance of the pet industry as consumer demand wields much influence over industry practices," said Ms Noelle Seet, Head of Campaigns of ACRES.

- CNA/ct

Many top-graded pet shops 'fail in animal welfare'
MATTHIAS TAY Today Online 21 May 15;

SINGAPORE — Despite obtaining an “A” grade under the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) Pet Shop Grading Scheme, several pet shops had failed to provide basic animal welfare, said the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) today (May 20), citing findings from a two-month-long undercover operation.

These included failing to provide adequately-sized enclosures for dogs and cats, proper flooring conditions and clean drinking water.

Of the 30 pet shops the ACRES undercover team visited between March and May, 21 shops were found to have breached one or more of the AVA’s Pet Licence Conditions.

Ten of the pet shops failed to display their assigned grades, while the remaining 11 had not provided basic animal welfare.

The team also visited 12 animal farms during the operation and found 10 to have similar breaches in animal welfare conditions.

Most pet shops, said ACRES, failed to provide an enclosure big enough for the enclosed animal to move about comfortably.

According to the licensing conditions on the AVA’s website, the length of an enclosure has to be at least twice the length of the animal, while the width has to be at least one-and-a-half times the animal’s length.

The greater concern, though, was that seven of the 11 shops that failed to provide adequate living conditions, were awarded top grades by the AVA, said ACRES Group Director (Wildlife) Anbarasi Boopal.

This raises questions about the current assessment system, especially since these shops had their gradings reviewed fairly recently in February, she added.

Failing to display a shop’s grade was another problem that ACRES highlighted. Not only is this against the AVA’s regulations, displaying the decal also helps consumers to make informed choices and decide whether to support the establishment and its practices, said ACRES Head of Campaigns Noelle Seet.

The ACRES undercover operation also proved another point — that anyone is capable of looking out for errant practices when equipped with sufficient knowledge of the conditions.

“You don’t need to be an expert, you just need to know what these conditions are. Because we did this, it shows that members of the public are equally capable in monitoring pet farms and pet shops in Singapore,” said Ms Seet, adding that licensing conditions can easily be obtained on the AVA’s website.

However, ACRES noted that when it comes to guidelines governing pet farms, only a small excerpt could be found on the AVA’s “petsforlife” website. The excerpt states that dog farms are required to comply with similar animal welfare conditions that pet shops must follow.

In response to TODAY’s queries, the AVA said it has received ACRES’ report and is conducting investigations.

The AVA noted that pet shops’ licences are renewed annually, and graded according to a shop’s history of compliance with the agency’s licensing conditions and adoption of industry’s best practices. The grades are reviewed whenever a shop is compounded for an offence.

“Pet shops and farms are inspected regularly, as well as in response to public feedback ... If any infringements are found, AVA will warn the licensee and ensure that the necessary rectifications are made,” the AVA said.

If the infringements have a direct impact on animal welfare, a composition fine will be issued.

Repeat offenders also face the possibility of being convicted in court and fined up to S$5,000. Errant establishments also risk getting their licences suspended or even revoked.

The AVA said in the past three years, it has dealt with 40 cases involving establishments that failed to comply with licensing conditions, and they were issued composition fines.

Pet shops, farms 'falling foul of AVA licence rules'
Miranda Yeo The Straits Times AsiaOne 21 May 15;

A HUSKY was kept in a cage that was too small and left outdoors in the heat.

Another dog was in a cage so low it could not even stand up while a cat was housed in one made of thin wire with no mat to protect its paws from cuts.

These and other lapses in animal living conditions were found in most pet farms and a third of pet shops checked during an undercover investigation by an animal welfare group.

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) selected at random 41 pet shops and farms which it visited from March to this month.

The majority were found to have flouted the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA's) housing and environment licence conditions for displaying and selling cats and dogs.

Of the 29 pet shops visited, 11 breached one or more basic animal welfare conditions - such as providing a large enough cage and clean water. Of these 11, seven had received an "A" grade from AVA's pet shop grading scheme in February.

Acres deputy chief executive Anbarasi Boopal said the breaches were obvious on visual examination, adding that "AVA's guidelines for the grading scheme may need to be reviewed as these basic conditions were not met even by shops with an 'A' grade".

There are more than 150 pet shops in Singapore.

Ten of the 12 pet farms displaying and selling dogs and cats breached more than one of the requirements, said Acres. Unlike pet shops, pet farms are not graded by the AVA, as they are commercial facilities where animals are bred for sale.

AVA confirmed it had received the Acres report, and was investigating.

It said it had dealt with 40 cases over the past three years in which a pet shop or farm had failed to comply with licensing conditions and the owners were handed composition fines.

AVA said if any infringements are found, it would warn the licensee and ensure that the necessary rectifications are made.

But if the infringement has an "immediate and direct impact" on animal welfare, it would issue a composition fine.

Repeat offenders may be charged in court. If convicted, they can be fined up to $5,000 and AVA may suspend or revoke their licence.

Acres' head of campaigns Noelle Seet said it is important to hold pet farms to the same animal welfare standards as pet shops.

Basic living conditions include housing the animals in large enough spaces. The length of the enclosure must be at least twice the length of the animal, measured from its nose to the base of its tail. The width should be at least 1.5 times the length and the height of the animal, and should allow it to stand on its hind legs.

Ms Seet said these criteria can be easily monitored even by members of the public.

"We encourage the public to be the check and balance of the pet industry as consumer demand wields much influence over industry practices," she said.

Another animal welfare group, Causes for Animals Singapore, welcomed Acres' findings while noting that enforcement could be an issue.

The group's fundraising coordinator, Ms Christine Bernadette, said: "Often, when we receive a tip-off and report it to the authorities, the owners would have cleaned up their act by the time officials investigate."

Ms Felicia Toh, 24, who bought her dog from a pet shop, said many prospective pet owners are not informed about guidelines for pet shops and farms, adding that "many pet owners make their decision based on their connection with the pet".

Undergraduate Annemarie Lim, 22, chose to adopt a dog instead of buying one because she saw that pet shops had cramped living conditions.

"Ideally, animal lovers should adopt, and boycott pet shops and farms but some owners prefer specific breeds and want to raise their pet from young," she added.

AVA also urged the public to help pet shops and farms raise their standards by patronising only the responsible ones. People should also contact AVA on 1800-476-1600 if they come across any errant pet shop or farm, it said.

Grade A pet shop, F for welfare
Ling Yuanrong The New Paper AsiaOne 23 May 15;

Packed in small cages, the puppies displayed for sale at the pet shop looked ill, with dry scaly skin.

It was heartrending for Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) undercover investigator John (not his real name) to witness.

The puppies also panted heavily, an indication that they were not given enough clean drinking water by the pet shop owners, John added.

While this scene from last month remains deeply etched in John's mind, they were only some of the practices that breached animal welfare conditions at local pet shops and farms.

Acres uncovered these poor practices during its undercover investigations between March and May, the animal activist group revealed at a press conference yesterday at its headquarters in Jalan Lekar in Choa Chu Kang.

The two-month investigation involved the inspection of 29 local pet shops and 12 farms displaying cats and/or dogs for sale.

The pet shops and farms were assessed based on 10 criteria extracted from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) pet shop licensing regime. This includes dimensions of cages, comfortable flooring and provision of clean water.

Twenty-one of the 29 pet shops and 10 of 12 farms were found to have breached one or more of the 10 criteria.

Ms Noelle Seet, Acres head of campaigns, told The New Paper yesterday that the group hopes to educate and raise public awareness through this undercover investigation.

"What our investigators did are solely visual examinations of the pets in the shop and this is something anyone can do.

"We hope potential pet owners will look out for such poor practices when they go into pet shops and choose against buying pets from shops that breached animal welfare conditions," Ms Seet said.

BASIC WELFARE

Acres' findings also revealed that 11 out of 29 pet shops failed to meet the conditions for most basic animal welfare.

This means the length of the cage must be at least two times the length of the animal, the width be at least one-and-a-half times the length of the animal, and the height must allow the animal to comfortably stand upright on its hind legs.

Seven of the 11 pet shops that failed had even received an A grade under AVA's Pet Shop Grading Scheme, in February.

The scheme was introduced by AVA in 2007 to raise standards in the pet retail industry.

Under the scheme, pet shops are graded from A to D based on their compliance with licence conditions and their adoption of best animal welfare practices.

Investigator John hopes more people will help expose shops with poor conditions.

He added that his motivation for being an Acres undercover investigator is his belief for the need to stand up for animal rights.

"They are living things, too, and they should not be subject to needless suffering," said John.

He added that he felt a sense of accomplishment knowing that he is doing something meaningful and worthwhile.

"I am doing this to build a more compassionate society," he said.

If you witness poor animal housing conditions, you can report them to AVA (Animal Response Centre: 1800 476 1600) or request for help from Acres (+65 6892 9821, info@acres.org.sg).

AVA investigating pet shops and farms

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said it has received Acres' report and investigations are ongoing.

The agency also thanked Acres for its efforts, in reply to queries from The New Paper.

In the past three years, the AVA handled 40 cases of non-compliance of licensing conditions and the affected pet shops/farms were issued composition fines.

Pet shops and farms are inspected regularly, as well as in response to public feedback, said the AVA.

"During inspection, our officers check for compliance with licensing conditions and assess the general condition of the animals and the premises in which they are kept.

"If any infringements are found, AVA will warn the licensee and ensure that the necessary rectifications are made."

However if the infringements result in an immediate and direct impact on animal welfare, AVA will issue a composition fine, it said.
Repeat offenders may be charged in court.

If convicted, they can be fined up to $5,000 and AVA may suspend or revoke their licence.