Speech by 2M Desmond Lee at the AVA's Responsible Pet Ownership Event

Nov 10, 2018

I am happy to join you today. It is great to see that many of you have brought your pets along and joined us for this annual Responsible Pet Ownership event. I hope you are enjoying the carnival so far.

Through events such as this, AVA hopes to equip existing as well as potential pet owners with more knowledge to better care for their pets. This goes beyond understanding the technicalities of animal health and pet care. More importantly, it involves knowing how to be a responsible pet owner and being considerate to your neighbours, especially to those who do not own animals. This is important in a small place like Singapore, where living spaces overlap and friction can easily occur between neighbours, over their pet animals. 

Another area where we encounter human-animal friction from time to time involves stray dogs, or Singapore Specials as we prefer to call them. They evoke a range of reactions from Singaporeans. Some care for them, and feed them out of goodness and compassion. Some are oblivious to them. Other people are afraid of them, and will press the authorities to take action. 

There are a variety of reasons behind people’s concerns. First, there is an animal welfare concern, because Singapore Specials are constantly exposed to the elements, and to disease, hunger and vehicular traffic. Second, there is the public safety concern that some people have. They worry that stray dogs may chase or attack them or their children. And there are those who are concerned about public health, especially since rabies is present in the countries around Singapore. To address these worries, we need to adopt a humane, scientific and sustainable method of managing the stray dog population in Singapore.

We are therefore launching the nationwide Trap-Neuter-Release-Manage, or TNRM programme, today. This programme has been developed by AVA in close collaboration with 11 Animal Welfare Groups, or AWGs. As the name suggests, this work involves the capture, sterilisation, release and management of Singapore Specials. We aim to sterilise more than 70% of the stray dog population in Singapore over five years.  This is a major effort and will require all hands on deck. 

After sterilisation, the priority will be to rehome as many Singapore Specials as possible, where they will have shelter, food and vet care provided by their new owners. Those that are unable to be rehomed, will be released at suitable locations, supported by responsible community feeders. Over time, we ought to see a reduction in the number of stray dogs on our streets.

Let me highlight that many of our AWGs have already been working hard to carry out localised TNRM projects over the years. For example, between 2014 and 2016, SOSD implemented a TNRM initiative at Pulau Ubin, and successfully managed to stabilise the stray dog population there. It is indeed very hard work. 

AVA’s programme aims to consolidate and amplify these localised successes, but this time bring it to the national level. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will be the lead AWG working with the others to partner AVA to coordinate these efforts. The programme will be implemented in phases. First, we will provide more support for our AWG’s existing TNRM initiatives. AVA will support their costs for pre- and post-surgical boarding, vaccination, and sterilization of TNRM dogs. In tandem, we will build up our operational capabilities. For example, in September this year, we invited experts from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) to train TNRM participants on the humane trapping and safe handling of stray dogs. Next year, SPCA will also be able to provide sterilization services at their clinic when they are completed, as well as a central pool of professional trappers that the AWGs can tap on. 

The success of the nationwide TNRM will require the continued partnership of our AWGs, veterinarians, and responsible community feeders. All of you will play a crucial role in this programme. For those of you who have journeyed with us, you may remember how we had first sketched out these ideas on a sheet of paper, as we huddled at the back of a bus during site visits overseas. I thank you for keeping faith and working with us, through the ups and downs over the last few years, to get to this point. In addition, we need the patience, the understanding and the support of the wider community as TNRM takes time. You can help us by volunteering, or simply by spreading the word. 

The TNRM programme is something we have been working on and planning for many years. It is a humane, scientific and evidence-based community-led approach that addresses concerns about animal welfare and public health and safety, and involves all of us working together, both animal lovers and those who are not as comfortable with animals. On that account, I thank our AWGs, many of you are here today and some of you who were involved many years ago when we sketched this out. Thank you.