In the name of National Development

(click for a larger view)

A refresher on how the various organisations involved in animal welfare and control are linked: under the umbrella of MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT lies the various subjects of URA, HDB, Town Councils, National Parks and of course, AVA.

1. URA: they determine how our scarce land resources are utilised, thus which pieces of land will be taken over for development

2. HDB: they govern and determine housing rules for dogs allowed in our flats

3. NPARKS: certain areas like Sungei Buloh faces problems of stray dogs, and in the face of wildlife (flora and fauna) protection, the welfare of the strays may be sacrificed

4. AVA: they govern and safeguard animal and plant health, as well as animal welfare and control. Animal control involves catching and culling the strays when there are public complaints.

These parties directly or indirectly influence the reality and future of animal welfare in our country.


I would like to reiterate that we understand the stray population needs to be controlled and unchecked breeding by stray dogs and cats will ultimately lead to public complaint. However, take a moment and think - how has the CULLING (catching and killing) of strays helped our stray population for the past decades? Have we seen a significant drop in the number of stray dogs and cats or are we still battling the same issue with the same method, over and over again, with NO significant results?

Rising number of stray dogs is a result of various factors:

1. INDISCRIMINATE/ILLEGAL BREEDING

More stringent and regular checks must be done at all breeding farms and petshops. Current standards of breeding farms are less than desirable and there seem to be no strict regulations on breeders:

- how many breeding dogs are allowed on each farm

- how often the bitches can be bred

- living conditions of breeding dogs and puppies being born

- control of sale of dogs from farm: breeding farms are NOT licensed for sale of animals but they are openly selling from their compound

Have you ever wondered what happens to pups who not sold? Are there proper records of the number of dogs and pups on each farm? Who is safeguarding the welfare of the animals on such farms? Control this root of the problem, and the issues stemming from it will steadily fall into place.

This is one case of suspected illegal breeding reported to the AVA. When you come across a case of suspected illegal breeding, or if you noticed unacceptable conditions on dog farms/petshops, pls make an immediate report to AVA and SPCA for a thorough investigation. Only by exposing errant behaviour, will there be positive changes.

1. PET ABANDONMENT
Due to the lack of legislation and capability of tracking down offenders, pet owners find it easy to dump their unwanted animals in isolated areas/HDBs/outside petshops and are not caught for it. The main reason is: the authorities have not made it compulsory for all pet dogs to be MICROCHIPPED.* Microchipping and registration of dogs must be done prior to sale for it to be effective at all. Once the dog leaves the petshop, it will be near impossible to check on the family to make sure they microchip AND register their dog thereafter.

3. UNSTERILISED STRAYS

To attain a longterm, truly effective and HUMANE form of stray population control, more efforts and resources must be channelled towards:

(a) legislation against indiscriminate breeding

(b) legislation against pet abandonment

(c) sterilisation of strays

Currently, many individuals are working fervently on their own accord to sterilise the strays and offer them a decent right to life. Animal welfare societies are utilising their OWN funds and manpower to better a situation which can be easily controlled on a CONCERTED, NATIONAL LEVEL OF SUPPORT.

On the sideline of volunteer organisations lie the private/government dog catchers who are directing resources to catching and culling the strays, some of whom are ALREADY STERILISED.