The Straits Times
STForum
July 2, 2009
Animal abuse
'Shocking. Such a crude trap should be banned.'
MR BENNIE CHEOK: 'Tuesday's report, 'Dog found with hind paw severed', which showed a picture of the dog with its hind leg bone dangling is shocking. I cannot imagine that the metal trap, seen in movies used by trappers to hunt wild animals for food, is still used in modern Singapore. Such a device, set in the dense vegetation of Lim Chu Kang to trap wild boars, poses a danger not only to animals but also to soldiers training in the vicinity. The use of such a crude and dangerous metal trap should be banned and offenders fined heavily and jailed, to deter others from using it.'
July 2, 2009
Increase penalties for cruelty to animals
THE recent reported acts of cruelty to stray cats and dogs are disgusting. The abuse of Kiwi, the female stray dog photographed with a severed leg caused by a metal trap, was horrible.
Perhaps stiffer penalties should be imposed on such culprits, if they are caught.
Cleopatra Leo (Miss)
July 2, 2009
Animal traps are plain acts of cruelty
I READ with deep concern on Tuesday that the use of an animal trap in Lim Chu Kang has cost a dog its hind limb and subjected it to severe pain ('Dog found with hind paw severed').
The use of such devices to trap and maim wild animals is not to be condoned, as it leads the victim to a slow and painful death. There is also a risk that any human walking in the area can step on a trap and suffer the same anguish.
Can the authorities take measures to comb the area and remove such traps? Surely, planting any device that poses a significant risk to the well-being of others is against the law. Perpetrators of such heinous acts should not get away scot-free. Already, the recent cases of animal abuse are most unnerving.
Basic respect for fellow beings, human or otherwise, should not be allowed to plumb new lows.
Yeow Ping
