The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has appointed the Cat Welfare Society (CWS) as its third-party mediator for cat-related issues. This appointment formalises the existing partnership between AVA and CWS, and will last for one year. A review will be carried out after the one-year mark to assess the effectiveness of and the need for such services.
AVA is Singapore’s first responder for animal-related issues. As such issues are often complex, AVA adopts a multi-stakeholder and multi-pronged approach to manage them, working together with Town Councils, other government agencies, and stakeholders such as animal welfare groups and academics.
Since 2015, AVA has worked closely with CWS to manage cat-related feedback. CWS helps to mediate cat-related disputes, bringing affected parties together to effectively bring about amicable solutions. It also advises community cat feeders and cat owners to practise responsible cat feeding and responsible pet ownership.
“CWS is a valued partner in our efforts to promote animal welfare and responsible pet ownership. They play an active role in supporting us to manage cat-related issues on the ground. Given their track record in the use of mediation to mitigate cat-related issues, we are happy to extend our partnership with them. We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with CWS,” said Ms Jessica Kwok, Group Director, Animal Management Group, AVA.
We welcome this opportunity to partner AVA and support them in their response to cat-related issues and feedback in Singapore. As a non-profit organisation that has always stood at the forefront of advocating the humane management of cats, this partnership is acknowledgment of the work that we do and reaffirms the Government's support of mediation as a preferred means to resolve cat-related disputes in the community. We expect that there will be increased costs in sterilisation as well as community engagement and outreach from this scope of work so we hope that the public will continue to support us in this ground breaking endeavour. Together we believe that we can achieve the twin goals of humane management of the community cat population and responsible cat ownership,” said Ms Laura Ann Meranda, Executive Director, CWS.
