MEDIA RELEASE - Singapore's first Tiger Show
Singapore, 10 February 2010 | For Immediate Release
The Cat Welfare Society, together with the Post-Museum, is organising a week-long art and advocacy event from 21 - 28 February 2010.
The provocatively titled "Tiger Show" welcomes the year of the Mighty Cat in celebration of our humble Community Cats. It will bring together people from all walks of life that have a passion for animal welfare, and most certainly, a soft spot for our feline friends - to gather, to share, to learn and to party!
Event line-up for the week
21 Feb (Sunday) 7.30pm - The Tiger Show Opens
Opening of our week-long feline-inspired Art Exhibition and Bazaar
Free, by invitation.
The show is a gathering of renowned cat artists like Paul Koh of Catmasutra, Ng Ling Tze of Sloth Studios, the team from Cats of the World as well as other local artists like multi-disciplinary visual artist,Tay Bee Aye and ceramist, Michelle Lim. Many feline-inspired collectibles will also be on sale at the show! Exhibition opening hours 6-10pm (Tue-Fri), 12nn-10pm (Sat-Sun).
25 Feb (Thursday) 8.00pm - "I am Cat. Hear Me Roar"
An advocacy and mediation workshop for the welfare of cats
$8 with a non-alcoholic drink
$12 with an alcoholic drink
Be part of an open and honest discussion with SPCA, Action for Singapore Dogs, Cat Welfare Society and guest panelist Mr Siew Kum Hong about where animal welfare, especially for domestic animals, stands in Singapore - our progress and our stumbling blocks, with insights into the role of new media in advancing our collective cause. Our line-up of speakers include Jaipal Gill from SPCA who will be speaking on animal sentience, Kelly Then on managing disputes and November of Leafmonkey Workshop on new media advocacy.
Photo by Cats of the World
Painting by Ng Ling Tze
26 Feb (Friday) 7.30pm Animal People Singles' Night!
$12 with first drink
It's a party so let the fur fly. It's time to break out the alcohol and the party heels. If you have ever lamented that you met this wonderful person to find out they hate your dog or your hamster, you won't have this problem here. And did we mention the vivacious Maia Lee is performing? (Strictly humans tonight, please!)
28 Feb (Sunday) 12 - 5pm Cat's Day Out
$30 per ticket
We are reviving this popular gathering of cat people and their cats! Join our favourite host, Melody Chen in search of the most beautiful domestic cat that day! Also look out for cat grooming services, cat and owner photo portraiture taking, cat training workshop and a very special symposium cum visual performance by the one and only Smiling Yogi Bala Matchap -- Cat Yoga!
Cat welfare in Singapore
The burden of stemming the tide of destruction largely falls to cat caregivers – regular people with a big heart.
The proliferation of stray animals in our communities is a human-created problem. They are here as a direct result of human-driven activities – a thriving live pet trade, irresponsible breeding and pet abandonment. As we enter the year of the Tiger, animal welfare agencies and organisations have a big concern - the number of animals that are going to be cleaned out with the trash during spring cleaning. This trend is mirrored in more than one turning of the year on a multi-cultural calendar – Hari Raya and New Year’s Day. And we are already seeing it happen with the next Chinese New Year around the corner.
On January 30 2010, 8 cats were abandoned in their filthy, rusty cages. When community cat caregivers received the tip-off, only 2 very frightened cats remained. The rest had gone to hide in the drains. Our experience with home cats that have been abandoned is that they have very little chance of survival. Some stay put in their hiding spot refusing food until they waste completely away.
Cat caregivers are those who sterilise and manage their community cats and work closely with the Town Council to resolve cat-related issues. They are volunteers who give of their own time and resources to care for the welfare of community cats.
The current measures in addressing the problem of stray cat proliferation includes
Pet Cat Ownership
* Improving standards and practices of pet shops by the Agri-food & Veterinary Authority (AVA)
* Education and awareness campaigns on responsible pet ownership by government agencies and animal welfare organisations
* Banning cats from public housing by the Housing & Development Board (HDB) (therefore pet cat abandonment is not a crime)
* Face-to-face mediation with cat owners, sterilisation assistance and rescue efforts by cat caregivers with the support of the Cat Welfare Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)
Stray or Abandoned Cats
* Sterilisation of community cats by cat caregivers with the support of SPCA and the Cat Welfare Society. Approx. 4200 sterilised through the support of the Cat Welfare Society and SPCA in 2008.
* Boarding at overtaxed animal shelters in Singapore
* Surrendering of animals and destruction at the Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) – Approx. 4500 surrendered in 2008
* Impounding and destruction by the - AVA Approx. 3500 culled in 2008
And still we had to put down 8000 cats last year. An average of 10,000 cats has been put down every year for the last 10 years.
The current measures put the considerable burden of addressing the problem of irresponsible cat owners squarely on cat caregivers. They also offer irresponsible cat owners an easy way out by abandoning and surrendering without consequences. The number of cats destroyed is gradually coming down, but the burden on cat caregivers continue year after year. The decreasing numbers is also a testimony to their efforts.
Many cat owners are driven to keep cats to save them from the streets, pest control and abuse. The percentage of people with local cats picked from the streets far outweighs the ones with pedigrees. Not regulating ownership not only penalises responsible owners who help keep cats off our streets, it puts irresponsible owners out of reach of the long arm of enforcement. Currently, government action against cat owners is confined in large degree to eviction. The pet cats then often join the community cats on the street.
Addressing the problem of irresponsible supply and demand, breeding and abandoning of pets has to come from a direct and concerted effort by government agencies, animal welfare organisations and the community of concerned citizens and pet owners, through legislation and enforcement, awareness and education and community peer pressure.
It is our aim at the Cat Welfare Society to support this steadfast and devoted community. We are celebrating their labours, the spirit and their compassion at the Tiger Show.
Additional event information
Event and registration information can be found on our
Website http://www.catwelfare.org
Facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=265809089550&ref=ts#!/pages/Cat-Welfare-Society/99555921064
Our Facebook event page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=265809089550&ref=ts has garnered 100 confirmed guests as of 10 Feb 2010!
Profiles of our sponsors, artists and talents for the Tiger Show are listed in Annex A.
About Cat Welfare Society
The Cat Welfare Society is a charity, run almost entirely by volunteers, whose aim is to improve the welfare of community cats in Singapore. All community cats deserve our compassion and protection, and we believe that there are humane, effective ways to control their population -- that is, through sterilisation instead of destruction.
We exist for the following purposes:
* To promote tolerance, kindness and respect towards cats and other living creatures.
* To promote sterilisation as opposed to culling (putting to sleep) of cats.
* To promote responsible pet ownership and responsible management of community cats.
* To increase awareness of the state of cats living in the streets of Singapore and stop ignorance through education.
About Post-Museum
Post-Museum is an independent cultural and social space which seeks to examine contemporary life, promote the arts and connect people. It is a ground-up project initiated by Singaporean curatorial team p-10 and it opened in September 2007.
We are located in two 1920s shop-houses in Little India, an exciting and truly historical and multi-cultural area in Singapore. Through its activities, Post-Museum aims to respond to its location and community as well as serve as a hub for local and international cultures.
Our activities cover many areas including Art, Design, Architecture and work by NGOs. p-10 is the Resident Curatorial Team and is responsible for a large part of the Art programme. The other programmes are organised by other motivated individuals who have interest and/or expertise in those areas.
For media clarification, please contact:
Veron Lau
Mediation & Community Outreach Officer
Cat Welfare Society
Tel: +65 96658971
Email: veron@catwelfare.org.sg
Jennifer Teo
Director
Post-Museum
Tel: +65 97317460
Email: jennifer@post-museum.org
