SINGAPORE — The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)'s latest report, released on January 30, highlights “alarming” trends in 2023, with pet abandonment incidents in Singapore increasing by almost three times compared to 2022. announced that it would. .
Cats are bearing the brunt of this surge, accounting for 45% of cases. The SPCA and various animal welfare organizations Yahoo Southeast Asia They said the increase was due to factors including unregulated ownership, an overpopulation crisis due to limited sterilization, and the widespread perception of cats as “low-maintenance” pets. We believe that it is.
Overpopulation due to unregulated property rights and lack of sterilization
Unlike other pets, cats currently fall into a gray area where ownership is unregulated. Currently, pet cats, unlike dogs, do not require a license, said SPCA Executive Director Aarti Sankar.
“This lack of accountability makes it easy for owners to abandon their cats without facing consequences. Unless there are actual witnesses to the abandonment act, it is difficult to prosecute offenders,” she said. added.
Quek Guan Ling, volunteer coordinator for Causes for Animals, pointed out that the lack of permits also makes it difficult to track down pet cats, as they tend to blend in with community cats.
Limited knowledge, lack of motivation and lack of funded sterilization are also contributing factors to the “population explosion”, Quek added. According to CNA, the number of domestic cats in Singapore in 2023 was approximately 94,000, an increase of 10% from 2019, while the country's feral cat population is currently estimated at 50,000-60,000.
Unspayed cats can give birth to unwanted kittens, which irresponsible cat owners may dismiss as an “easy way out,” Quek said.check Yahoo Veterinarian neutering can cost at least $150 for male cats, but can cost even more for female cats, sometimes more than $300.
Tenuga Vijayakumar, president of the Cat Welfare Society (CWS), said cats can reproduce rapidly as they have a short gestation period of 90 days and give birth to four to six kittens per litter. Increasing the number of cats in the home can further constrain resources.
To help with rising costs, two years ago CWS launched a subsidized sterilization program for domestic cats for economically disadvantaged families. The grant will also cover the cost of sterilization and microchip implantation, and in some limited cases, round-trip transportation.
Approximately 1,400 families have taken the program since the beginning of 2022, according to CWS.
Cats are perceived as low maintenance
Rehomer Joanne Chong of Purely Meow Cat Adoptions said cats are becoming more popular as pets because they are perceived as “relatively low-maintenance” pets, citing the SPCA report. Stated.
“Cats are deceptively easy to care for. People don't realize how easy cats are to breed. Many of these families can't cope with their exploding popularity. I’m abandoning my cat,” she says.
On the surface, cats make ideal pets for the majority of Singaporeans, as cat owners do not require regular walks or baths, and only need to ensure that their cats have access to food and water. It has become.
They are also “relatively small and quiet animals” and once neutered, they typically do not catterwall or make high-pitched or howling noises, Cheong said. .
What could be another possible reason why cats are the most abandoned pets in Singapore? CWS's Mr Tenuga said there was a growing number of “irresponsible owners” who considered cats “disposable”.
CWS has received multiple reports of a decrease in the number of abandoned cats over the past two months, suggesting that irresponsible cat owners are on the rise.
Animal rights groups are still grappling with the ramifications caused by increased pet ownership during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more people staying at home and more pet adoptions. increased. Then, as people returned to offices and inflation drove up costs, more pets were let go.
“People may have adopted homes during the coronavirus pandemic without considering whether they would fit into their lifestyle when the situation returns to normal,” she said. says Kerstin Schulze of the nonprofit foundation Project LUNI.
Difficulty in cat abandonment cases
Chong also suggested that people who abandon cats are becoming increasingly bold because they “know they won't catch them.”
Despite growing knowledge about abandonment cases, finding witnesses and collecting photographic and video evidence is not so easy, and in some cases it may not be possible to identify the perpetrator, she said. said.
The SPCA said it was “difficult to prosecute offenders for abandonment under the Wildlife Act” unless there were actual witnesses to the abandonment. Currently, individuals convicted of pet abandonment can be fined up to $10,000, imprisoned for up to 12 months, or both.
Incidents such as the one in January last year when a woman abandoned a cat in a cage outside SPCA grounds and was caught on CCTV can provide clues, but this is not always the case.
“Logically, how often does it happen that someone happens to be there when the abandonment is taking place and is actively videotaping it?” Chong said. .
Increased community and online access
Darius Lowe, co-founder of Wildflower Studio, an art-jamming cat cafe that works with cat rescuers and runs adoption programs, says the proliferation of cats is due to community cats being more accessible than other companion animals. He said that this may be because of this.
“It's certainly easier to find stray cats on the street than stray dogs, hamsters, and rabbits. Many community cats live in areas with well-maintained feeding stations, and their positive association with humans makes them more “They are more willing to approach humans,” he said. “They learned from regular feeding and care.”
The increase in illegal backyard breeders has also been found to be a major contributor to the increase in abandonment cases. These breeders sell exotic breed cats for between $100 and $300, rather than the $1,000+ prices of more reputable breeders, encouraging casual cat ownership. Cheong said.
If you scour social media, you'll easily find posts about adopted cats. That's why her urge to take the cat home without thinking about her commitment is “very appealing,” she added.
This was announced by an animal rights organization. Yahoo Southeast Asia Abandoned cats are usually found in residential areas such as HDB void decks, staircases, and parking lots. In some cases, cats were abandoned in secluded areas such as farmlands.
The SPCA is currently working with authorities to develop and implement measures to create a licensing framework for cat owners. This is expected to be rolled out in late 2024, and animal rights groups hope it will help improve the situation.
In addition to legally allowing HDB homeowners to own up to two cats, it will also require all owners to obtain a cat license, similar to how dog ownership is currently regulated. All new license applicants are also required to take a free online Responsible Pet Ownership course.
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