Updated 01:22 PM Jan 04, 2013
I refer to the report, "Animal welfare groups step up hunt for kitten killers" (Jan 3).
The statement by Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, that "how one is judged as a society can be seen - among other things - from the way one treats animals", struck a chord with me.
I live in Yishun and am proud that my constituency is the one with the pilot programme encouraging responsible cat ownership.
While it is a sign that we are becoming a more gracious society, we are some distance away from achieving that goal.
I have seen children chasing after stray cats just to give them a good scare, while their parents turn a blind eye to their antics.
What the children see as harmless fun may lead to the wrong mentality, especially when parents fail to educate them on the proper way to treat animals.
Animal rights are no less than ours and no society should tolerate the kind of behaviour that ended the two kittens' lives. It is time for harsher penalties in cases of animal cruelty. A slap on the wrist in the form of a fine cannot suffice.
The public should also help with information that could lead to the arrest of such animal abusers.
It would be the right thing to do, whether or not one is an animal lover.
The statement by Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, that "how one is judged as a society can be seen - among other things - from the way one treats animals", struck a chord with me.
I live in Yishun and am proud that my constituency is the one with the pilot programme encouraging responsible cat ownership.
While it is a sign that we are becoming a more gracious society, we are some distance away from achieving that goal.
I have seen children chasing after stray cats just to give them a good scare, while their parents turn a blind eye to their antics.
What the children see as harmless fun may lead to the wrong mentality, especially when parents fail to educate them on the proper way to treat animals.
Animal rights are no less than ours and no society should tolerate the kind of behaviour that ended the two kittens' lives. It is time for harsher penalties in cases of animal cruelty. A slap on the wrist in the form of a fine cannot suffice.
The public should also help with information that could lead to the arrest of such animal abusers.
It would be the right thing to do, whether or not one is an animal lover.
