https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-the-Punggol-Strays/156463767790713
An Anonymous Contributor Shares her Response to the Culling of Punggol Dogs
The Save the Punggol Strays campaign has been challenged at every turn.
They have been called ‘ludicrous’ and ‘extreme’. They have been accused of ‘trivialis[ing] the lives of fellow Singaporeans’. They have been warned not to ‘stir emotions’, ‘demonize AVA’, and ‘go after the government’. They have been labeled as ‘activists’ and ‘animal lovers’.
Do you know what is ‘ludicrous’? They think we are simple enough to reject their ideas if they point at them and call them ‘extreme’. They think we are afraid of anything that might be perceived as challenging the government. They think we can be distracted from the fact that they actually have a point.
They want people to be scared of them. They want you to think they are radical ‘activists’ and ‘animal lovers’. But here’s the thing: You do *not* have to be an activist or love animals, to see the flawed logic behind catch and kill policy. Anyone can figure out catch and kill does not work. And that is why they want this campaign to fade away— they are afraid regular people might start to notice that they are using their taxpayer dollars to kill hundreds of animals every year for no discernable reason.
Culling achieves nothing but we do it anyway. Killing the animals in an area creates a vacuum. Animals from other places move in to fill that void. And these animals keep having more babies so we end up with even more animals than before. This is called the vacuum effect. It is a well-documented phenomenon that is backed up by hard scientific research. Killian et al (2007) said it best: ‘Depopulation by lethal means may result in a “vacuum” effect where territorial boundaries are no longer defended allowing for influx of new diseased and non diseased animals to the area. Moreover, populations greatly reduced by culling are likely to rebound quickly, providing young animals’.
There are so many ways we could meaningfully reduce the homeless animal population. Actively discouraging people from abandoning animals. Letting people give animals a home in their flats. Supporting and encouraging sterilization of animals. All of these solutions would be better than killing tens of thousands of homeless animals under the guise of ‘public safety’.
Not a lot of people knew how prevalent catch and kill is before this campaign came along. People are only just starting to notice resources are being wasted on an endless cycle of trapping and killing. For the first time, people are becoming aware that animals are being killed all the time in their neighborhoods. We can no longer stay silent. By keeping quiet, we tacitly condone and accept the killing of lots innocent animals for no particular reason as a legitimate action to ‘ensure the public is kept safe’.
Read, share, and discuss. Spread the word. Start conversations. Together, we can help give the Punggol strays a chance, and make people sit up and take notice of wasteful, ineffective, and indiscriminate culling.
Links roundup:
Exchange on Mr Tan Chuan Jin’s Facebook Wall
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=292921417417307&id=182928775083239
Straits Times: Dog lovers upset over stepped-up culling in Punggol
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_747280.html
Straits Times: Culling done to ensure public safety
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20111223-317957.html
Today Online: Roadblocks to re-homing dogs?
http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC111224-0000012/Roadblocks-to-re-homing-dogs
Killian et al (2007). USDA National Wildlife Research Center - Staff Publications. Paper 758.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/758
Plea to Save the Punggol Stray Dogs on Channel News Asia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhm5unx2P4U&feature=youtu.be
Plea to save Punggol Stray Dogs on Mediacorp Channel 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbaKWEAt6MM&feature=youtu.be
