Pilot trial for cats, stray dogs to be kept in HDB homes

Animals lovers could see two longstanding wishes fulfilled as two pilot projects to rehome cats and stray dogs are rolled out next year.

One of the projects will allow HDB owners to keep a cat as a pet.

To be launched in Chong Pang, cat owners will be required to register, sterilise, micro-chip and keep the cat indoors.

Other details of the pilot project will be released later, reported AsiaOne.

 The project is initiated by the Cat Welfare Society (CWS) and Sembawang-Nee Soon Town Council, together with the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).

In June this year, Chong Pang constituency announced that it would stop culling stray cats and started a humane cat management programme.

It is the first constitutency in Singapore stop the culling of strays.

The second project is the rehoming of stray mongrel dogs or cross-breed dogs in HDB flats islandwide. It is aimed at alleviating the issue of stray dogs.

Dog lovers will have to go through screening by animal welfare groups for suitability to participate, while dogs may require compulsory obedience training and sterilisation.

These projects are the result of an inter-agency task force set up in July to review current pet ownership and stray animal management policies.

The two pilot projects were announced on Saturday by Minister of State for National Development and Manpower Tan Chuan-Jin at the launch of AVA's Responsible Pet Ownership Roadshow 2011.

In a Facebook note on Saturday, Tan said, "Many people prefer that animals are not put down. Nor do I."

He added that his ministry is working closely with animal welfare groups to come up with alternative options for these animals such as the two rehoming projects.

In the same note, Tan also addressed a photo of a mistreated dog circulated online.

The photo shows a man, said to be an AVA dog catcher, brutally dragging a dog.

Tan clarified that investigations showed it was actually an image found online and the man was not hired by the AVA. The photo was taken freom an online article on dogs in China.

Tan added that the finding was corroborated by a Noah's Ark CARES volunteer, who had spoken to the witnesses.