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Since the last General Election (GE), it seems that all of a sudden, everyone in the establishment have come out all guns-blazing in support of animal welfare and rights.
The Prime Minister went out of this way to enquire about a stray dog (and perhaps through that enquiry saved it from being killed). The Law and Foreign Affairs Minister saved not one, but all the cats in his constituency from being culled. A faction of the labour movement (which is headed by a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office) co-organised a concert with an animal rights NGO to save the dolphins.
Wow! Amazing!
But wait a minute. Who placed size restrictions of dogs allowed in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats? Who forbids cats from being kept in HDB apartments? Who approved the import of dolphins by Resorts World Sentosa?
At least since 2007, dog lovers have called on the government to lift the size restrictions of dogs allowed in HDB flats (see HERE). At least since 2005, the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has recommended to the government that cats be allowed in HDB flats (see HERE). At least since 2003, ACRES has championed the plight of captive dolphins to the government (see HERE). But have they listened?
It seems that those that are in the establishment are so spooked by the last GE and the image of the PAP (and linked establishments) as being aloof and arrogant, that they are now seeking ways to soften this image. And what better way to soften your image then by showing that you are sympathetic to creatures that have mouths that do not speak the human language?
Those that have been elected to govern the country, should now come out of the ‘GE-mode’ and stop trying to be popular for the sake of being so; and concentrate on making appropriate policies to run the country.
Yes, we need responsible policies for the animal welfare and rights, but such policies will not come about through rhetoric or gestures alone. They have to be formulated and implemented by the government that is elected.
“The human spirit is not dead. It lives on in secret…. It has come to believe that compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind.”
Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize Winner
