SINGAPORE – People who abuse animals may soon face stiffer penalties, while service providers found doing so may be looking at a lifetime ban on offering animal-related services.
These are among the proposals that Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng intends to make at an upcoming Parliament sitting, through an “extensive” White Paper to strengthen animal welfare in Singapore.
With the ban on pet cats in Housing Board flats to be lifted from September, Mr Ng also said he would push for the sterilisation of pet cats to become mandatory.
At a forum on animal protection policies on July 14, Mr Ng was joined by Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam, who is also a Nee Soon GRC MP, to discuss ways to curb animal abuse given the recent surge in animal cruelty and welfare cases.
Mr Ng said the White Paper he plans to submit to the Government will propose increased penalties for cases of animal abuse, as well as more clearly define the duty of care that those who own or work with animals must provide.
Currently, pet owners as well as animal-related businesses and shelters have to provide a positive duty of care to give these animals adequate food and water and ensure they are not physically handled in a manner that causes them pain, among others.
Mr Ng said he is looking into drafting more detailed and specific codes of animal welfare for pet shops and dog breeders, so that it would be easier to prosecute people who commit animal abuse.
The dialogue at Nee Soon East Community Club was attended by various animal welfare groups, such as Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres).
The issue of animal abuse by service providers came up strongly in the conversation. Mr Ng said he intends to press for a lifetime ban on owning animals or working in an animal-related business for those guilty of animal abuse, beyond the current disqualification period of up to 12 months.
He will also suggest mandating the sterilisation of cats living in HDB flats to prevent cats from caterwauling, or the howling that cats use as mating calls.
This will reduce the number of residents who complain about noise disturbances from such cries and help ensure the smooth roll-out of the upcoming cat management framework, he said.
The White Paper will be extensive as it will take in policy suggestions and feedback from the forum, said Mr Ng, who founded Acres when he was an undergraduate.
He will also push for a stronger focus on animal welfare in school curricula and better enforcement efforts to ensure that dog breeders adhere to guidelines.
“I would say that this is a little bit sad – this will be the first motion in Parliament on animal welfare in the history of Singapore,” he added.