Saturday, May 30, 2015

Vesak Day: Compassion and Wisdom



The Straits Times Forum Online 26 Apr 05 
Be kind to animals to mark Vesak Day. Remember what the Buddha teaches

During Vesak Day, Buddhists celebrate the birth of a religion that teaches compassion and wisdom. 

Releasing or liberating animals has become a traditional practice in Vesak celebration.

However, the unskillful release of animals has resulted in more suffering to the released animals as well as to other animals in the environment as a result of ecological incompatibility.

Some 2,600 years ago when the Buddha was traveling through the region of Kosala in India, he came across a group of people known as the Kalamas, to whom he gave a sermon that was recorded as the Kalama Sutra.

This was what he taught: 'Rely not on the teacher/person, but on the teaching. Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words. Rely not on theory, but on experience.

'Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many.

'Do not believe in anything because it is written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.'

Within our communities, we can 'liberate' animals by being kind to stray cats and dogs, by teaching our children to be kind to them, by speaking out against abuse, by advocating the humane method of animal population control with sterilisation instead of culling, by adopting rescued pets in shelters instead of buying them from pet shops and by supporting animal welfare organisations.

We can also 'liberate' animals from our dining tables by becoming vegetarians or eating less meat.

Dr Tan Chek Wee

http://www.a-h-a.net/hu_sheng.html

Animal Protection 护生

Every year, many cats and dogs are put to sleep, abused or abandoned. These inhumane and irresponsible acts create great sufferings not to mention injustice.

Given the danger of being on the street, any cats or dogs that live in a monastery is a life protected from abuse and from being put to sleep.
If you plan to do fang sheng (放生), consider hu sheng too. We have a list of monasteries and we have identified the suitable types of food.

We do not disclose the names of monasteries to avoid abandonment of animals. However, regular contrinutors are welcome to join us to deliver food to the monasteries.

We reach out to 69 animals in 8 locations whenever funds are available. Here is the list of monasteries:


Monastery A18 cats including some kittens
Monastery B9 cats all saved from being put to sleep
Monastery C4 cats. Some with skin problem so we will send food that protect their coat
Monastery D2 dogs and 1 cat. the 2 dogs were rescued from being put to sleep
Monastery E19 cats living in 2 locations in the monastery
Monastery F10 mostly senior cats
Monastery G1 dog and 1 cat
Monastery H4 dogs all rescued street dogs
Monastery I5 cats
Monastery J1 very senior cat
Monastery K4 cats
Monastery L2 cats living in a monastery.

Vesak Husheng Hamper

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Love OUR Trees and Community Cats

Love OUR Trees and Homeless Cats from Singapore Cats on Vimeo.

Backyard breeding more than just a pet peeve

http://www.todayonline.com/voices/backyard-breeding-more-just-pet-peeve


FROM

NICHOLAS YEO HUIMING

PUBLISHED: 4:17 AM, MAY 28, 2015
In the light of the report about an investigation by the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (“Many top-graded pet shops ‘fail in animal welfare’”, May 21), I wish to highlight that there are many backyard breeders in Singapore.
I want to focus particularly on the issue of illegal cat breeding. A quick search online would show a slew of pages with animals put up for sale and with promises that the cats are registered with world-recognised cat associations.
However, what these breeders do not have are licences issued to the relevantpet businesses under the Animals and Birds Act, legislation that duly penalises businesses and their employees for errant practices and neglect of animal welfare.
There are also many non-internationally-approved breeders, whose inappropriate breeding practices often lead to genetic health issues for cats.
A look at numerous websites would show that none of them have a business registration address, which means they are effectively not registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.
Hence, they would not be subject to taxes and other matters such as manpower and hygiene.
With prices of cats ranging anywhere from S$100 to S$10,000 in the market, I am amazed that individuals are not only profiteering, but are also not required to be accountable for their actions while subjecting buyers to strict, confidential terms.
This would surely not be approved for most legal businesses here. A particular breeder even uses the word “adoption” instead of “sale” in a blatant case of false advertising.
Backyard breeding is also feeding the continued abandonment of cats, which increases the stray population, something the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) is trying to halt through various programmes.
While the AVA has done a commendable job working with organisations such as the Cat Welfare Society on efforts like the Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage campaign, it must stop the problem at the source: Pet shops and, more importantly, illegal backyard breeders.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

A Shoe Repair Uncle and "Ah Girl"




严重警告在本地工作,爱吃狗肉的中国客工们!!! 知道你们可能看不懂英文,所以本文以中文书写。

8 hrs  ·  Edited  · 

WARNING work locally, eat dog meat in the Chinese passenger-workers! ! !
I know that you may not read English, so this article written in Chinese.

The recent spate of Singapore on site or woods, Chinese guest workers rounded up stray dogsEvents (do not ask me what it must be concluded that the hunting of man Chinese guest workers? IWhat they share is a clear durian, durian orang what it is! ) I know youIn the home, especially in the north, northeast of friends have the habit of eating dog meat, namelySo is the annual extreme bloody cruel heartless dog festival in Yulin, thatWhat is your home, is your so-called culture, although we do not agree, but IWe were busy.

But here in Singapore, please do not put your home to eat dog meat dietWhere our civilization! ! ! Do not tell me you sent to the ropes,Stick, in order to raise the dog caught back! What quality people doing things, To deceive! Do not ridiculous to say that these are not dogs, but Rougou! If the dog can be used to distinguish between dogs and edible dogs, so I can employersClass and animals to discriminate between us and you! (I'm sorry, I should not use animalsBorn to describe to you, it is a beast of an insult! ) you are in your home how lawlessness, even if you cook your own children behind closed doors

That is your family matter, but here are legal, civilized, people have human rights, dogDog advice, you have no right to infringe upon our rights and interests have been at peace stray dogs. In your country, the fate of stray dogs geomancy, to put down the prevalence of dirty environment

Dog three diseases: distemper, small, and coronavirus enterovirus invasion, summerDay to endure heat, cold winter to endure, and to avoid the fall and winter to eat dogMeat tonic people killed. In Singapore's stray dogs, in addition to the risk of trafficOther than insurance, and no such may endanger life-threatening, this class is not until youCivilized dog's food soon. (You do not think as I do not SingaporeansUnderstand the situation in China and lip service, I lived in China for many years, abnormal ChinaShaped Guaizhuang understanding of social phenomena, may not match your whole family! ) I am severely warned once again that you love to eat dog meat these foreign talent, do not

Then move Singapore moving stray dogs brains, nor the so-called cold dish butter dog smuggling northeastAny meat to restaurants in Chinatown sale or consumption in Singapore. We hereAny matter not keep a dog person, you will not tolerate such barbaric unopenedOf behavior. We will not hesitate to alarm handling, so you a taste of SingaporeInternationally renowned draconian laws! Mahatma Gandhi said: "The quality of a country, from how they treat small

Animals can be seen! " Also: We only against eating dog meat in Singapore, killing of stray dogs, other

Chinese guest workers behave, we are welcomed by foreign friends, are not weCondemnation range, do not pigeon-holing. You can not love, please do not hurt / kill! Please friends, the open letter forwarded to other such people may see social



Website!
Pls help to share this open letter to all social media for the PRC to see! Thx!


Memoirs Of A Community Cat




Rei Kimura1 hr · 
 

Would appreciate it if you could share this with all fellow com cat lovers!
Just to inform all you cat and animal lovers out there my book in English "Memoirs Of A Community Cat" is now available in all 4 (Orchard; Ĺiang Court, Bugis and Jurong) Kinokuniya bookstores. Please go and browse and lend your support as part of my small royalties will go back to the community cats (mostly in donations to the food fund of feeders who badly need help) for whom this book was written. This book gives the com cat a voice, a story to tell and hopefully will bring them closer to the community they live in because they have no where else to go... Thank you!
This is the display at Kinokuniya Takashimaya at B03-03 and Kinokuniya Bugis Junction Lifestyle

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Do animals have souls that go to heaven? The Buddhist view.

http://davidmichie.com/blog/2015/01/20/do-animals-have-souls-that-go-to-heaven-the-buddhist-view/

Polly

Stamps issued by Canada Post