Policies on strays, pet ownership to be reviewed
An inter-agency task force will be set up to conduct a four-mouth review on current pet ownership and stray animal management policies.
In an announcement by the Ministry of National Development, the task force will consist of senior officials from MND, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and the Housing and Development Board (HDB).
The move comes in light of increasing public awareness and concern for animals.
Last month, Law Minister K Shanmugam announced that his Chong Pang constituency will stop cat-culling, while National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan called for a 'compassionate and mature approach' to solve the stray cats problem.
As part of the review by the task force, AVA will also pilot a Stray Cat Sterilisation Programme (SCSP) as an alternative means of managing stray cats.
The joint collaboration between AVA, the participating Town Councils and the Cat Welfare Society (CWS) will be carried out in specific zones of Sembawang-Nee Soon, Tampines, Ang Mo Kio, and Marine Parade GRCs from this month.
AVA had previously terminated their sterilisation programme in May 2003, and volunteers from the Cat Welfare Society took it upon themselves to sterilise stray cats, lowering the cat population from 6,800 in 2008 to 5,100 in 2010.
