Senior Parliamentary Secretary Dr Maliki Osman shared his thoughts in a letter to Berita Harian readers on responsible pet ownership and fostering a more cohesive community. Full article: http://bit.ly/yXXkPD
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Senior Parliamentary Secretary Dr Maliki Osman shared his thoughts in a letter to Berita Harian readers on responsible pet ownership and fostering a
Senior Parliamentary Secretary Dr Maliki Osman shared his thoughts in a letter to Berita Harian readers on responsible pet ownership and fostering a more cohesive community. Full article: http://bit.ly/yXXkPD
Living with pets is a personal issue – some of us are ardent pet lovers, while others prefer to keep away from animals. Let me share my thoughts on responsible pet ownership and building a more cohesive community.
We have different opinions and tolerance levels towards pets and stray animals. Occasionally, some of us would share the lift with a pet owner and his pet, even if we are not comfortable being near such animals. We may not like it; but we still do it to avoid awkward situations. Indeed, as our society matures, we need to respect and be more open to the different views on these issues, and develop practical solutions together to create a conducive, shared living environment for all.
To better understand Singaporeans’ views, an inter-agency taskforce on pet ownership and stray management, comprising officials from the Ministry of National Development (MND), the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and the Housing & Development Board (HDB), conducted an extensive public engagement exercise last year. This included an online feedback portal, a nation-wide telephone survey of HDB residents, and focus group discussions with different stakeholders.
Interestingly, the responses and feedback were mixed! On the issue of pet ownership, many would like the Government to allow cat ownership and larger dogs in HDB flats. Others were concerned about the implications of changing the status quo because of nuisance and hygiene issues associated with irresponsible pet ownership. The taskforce has recommended a step-by-step approach to pilot two projects: a nation-wide re-homing of stray dogs in HDB flats, and allowing cat ownership in Chong Pang estate.
I agree that ensuring responsible pet ownership is important if we want to expand the space for pet ownership, and more importantly, to promote harmonious community living. The key stakeholders, comprising animal welfare groups, residents and Town Councils and government agencies, will jointly take responsibility and ownership of these animals issues, as well as manage them. We will trial this framework for the two pilot projects. We are still working out the details of the pilot projects and aim to start both projects sometime this year.
Reviewing our pet ownership policy is not for the cats and dogs, but for meeting the preferences of Singaporeans while bridging the interests of different segments of our society in sharing common spaces. Let us help one another in creating a harmonious living environment for everyone’s benefit. A little more tolerance and mutual respect can go a long way!