04:45 AM Nov 10, 2011
The measures that are being piloted as a collaboration between government agencies, animal welfare groups and the community aim to address the issues highlighted by Mr Peter Khaw in his letter "Why are cats the priority?".
The stray cat sterilisation programme was piloted after careful consideration of the results achieved over the last 10 years. Before sterilisation was introduced, the estimated number of stray cats in Singapore was 150,000. The culling rate every year before 1998 was around 13,000 cats. Currently, the stray cat estimate stands at 60,000. This shows the effectiveness of sterilisation in reducing the stray cat population the way culling alone was not able to.
Regulating cat ownership is the next crucial step in managing cat-related issues. While sterilisation is taking place on the ground, the problem of pet cat abandonment and irresponsible owners letting their pet cats (often unsterilised) roam persists, adding to the stray population. The Cat Welfare Society and its volunteers actively assist Town Councils in addressing cat-related issues. We have jointly found that more than 60 per cent of the complaints received by Town Councils are related to pet cats instead of stray cats. Cat defecation found on corridors is more a consequence of roaming pet cats than stray cats.
This shows that despite the ban on cats, cat ownership in HDB flats is already prevalent. It is therefore timely that the practice be regulated to ensure owners sterilise their pet cats and keep them strictly indoors.
A survey of resident attitudes towards stray management was conducted in Chong Pang from July to August this year. The results showed that 85 per cent of the residents were behind a humane solution towards stray cats. Only 3 per cent were insistent on culling. Out of more than 2,500 households surveyed, 200 cat owners were discovered; 40 of which did not keep cats responsibly due to a lack of education and awareness. Veron Lau, Vice-President, Cat Welfare Society
