Chong Pang to stop culling cats
Chong Pang constituency has announced that it will stop culling stray cats in the area.
It will also set in motion a humane cat management programme in two weeks, making it the first in Singapore to stop the culling of strays.
Organised by Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES) and in collaboration with the Chong Pang grassroots, the programme will give the public the opportunity to be engaged and voice their concerns to help shape animal welfare policies in Singapore.
Through the programme, the public can play an active and vital role in the programme and work closely with the Town Council, ACRES and the Cat Welfare Society.
Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam will launch the programme at a public forum on animal welfare policies on 18 June.
"I am happy that ACRES has launched this project. Our community is very happy to support and partner ACRES in this project. I hope it will help bring about a better consciousness of the way animals should be treated." said Minister Shanmugam.
This announcement comes after National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan called for AVA to review the culling of cats. In a blog entry dated 2 June, he wrote that a compassionate and mature approach should be formulated towards the stray cats problem.
In an email interview with SPCA last week, its executive director Deirdre Moss said, "When the minister endorses it in a positive manner, I think it's great and positive step for animal welfare that he's commenting on this issue."
"There are many estates today where ear-tipped (sterilised) community cats are thriving with responsible caregivers looking after them," Moss added.
Last year, 5,100 cats were culled while in 2009, the figure was 5,400.
