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An article on Today (extracted
below) which featured an interview with SPCA says that there are
lesser cats being surrendered to SPCA last year. This has been
attributed to the effectiveness of TNRM currently being practiced
in Singapore.
SPCA could put down the animals
surrendered to them in 24 hours due to a limitation on facilities
as they take in more than 800 animals a month - too many animals,
so little space.
As for cats being removed by pest control engaged by
Town Councils and property management, the cats are sent to
AVA, which means they would be put to sleep in 3 days.
The Cat Welfare Society advocates the humane practice of
Trap-Neuter-Return-Management as a more effective way to control
the population of community cats in Singapore.
We certainly hope to see an increase in tolerance for the cats
living amidst us, as we aim to chip off the misconceptions about
community cats bit by bit, through more awareness programmes
targetted at the public.
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Rise in lost dogs, despite
laws
LOH CHEE KONG
DESPITE recent laws making it compulsory for dogs to be licensed
and implanted with microchips,the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) received more lost dogs last year, even
as the population of stray cats appears to be under control.
The ruling, which animal activists hoped would discourage pet
dumping, took effect in September 2007. But it did not stop the
SPCA from receiving 1,162 lost dogs last year, a marginal increase
as compared to 2007, according to its latest statistics.
Last week the SPCA said in a press statement that most of the lost
dogs were “pedigree or pedigree crosses and the majority had no
microchip or identification”. Only just over a third was claimed by
their owners.
The dumping of such dogs — a concern the SPCA had flagged last year
— continue unabated, with 1,550 purebreds received. Mindful that
some could have been lost pets, the SPCA reminds owners to
microchip their dogs at veterinary clinics.
“More importantly, they mustlicense their dogs with the Agri-Food
and Veterinary Authority for the microchip to be effective,” it
said. Jack Russell Terriers, Maltese and Golden Retrievers were
some common breeds surrendered or abandoned, as well as a
“considerable number” of Huskies.
The Society receives around 700 animals each month, with only two
out of every 10 possibly finding new homes. The good news is that
the number of cats coming through its doors has dropped by 13 per
cent — or 600 cats — year-on-year. The average number of cats taken
in each month has also fallen from 500 to 300.
Such a “significant change” was likely due to more stray cats being
sterilised, the SPCA said.
Since 1991, the SPCA has implemented a free voucher scheme under
which it pays for the sterilisation of neighbourhood cats brought
by volunteer caregivers to participating veterinary clinics. More
than 2,000 vouchers were distributed last year.
“Although the demand for vouchers always exceeds the supply, many
community cats are being sterilised, which ultimately means the
number of births should decline,” the SPCA said
