Jakarta Globe – AFP, January 14, 2014
A woman (L) walks with her pet dog on a street in Singapore on Jan. 14, 2014. (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman) |
Singapore.
Singapore will impose stiffer penalties for animal abuse, Law Minister K
Shanmugam said Tuesday, following a recent spate of high-profile cases
including the poisoning of stray dogs and attacks on cats.
Speaking at
the opening of an Asian conference on animal welfare, Shanmugam, who is also
foreign minister, said Singapore wants to send a “strong deterrent message”
through changes in legislation.
Citing
statistics on animal abuse in Singapore, he pointed out a “worrying growth” in
the number of cases reported.
Within the
last five years, the number of animal welfare and cruelty cases handled by the
Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has surged by more than
65 percent, according to Shanmugam, who is known for his love of animals.
Suspected
cases of serial animal abuse have also been reported in local media, including
stray dogs killed or poisoned and cats being slashed or beaten to death in
2013.
People
convicted of cruelty to animals are currently subject to a fine of up to
Sg$10,000 ($7,900), a jail term of up to a year, or both.
Shanmugam
did not mention details of the planned legislation in his speech but Louis Ng,
chief executive of campaign group Animal Concerns Research and Education
Society, said a bill will be introduced in parliament this year to increase the
maximum fine to Sg$50,000 for repeat offenders.
In January
2014, the AVA began implementing new pet-shop licensing conditions to tackle
impulse buying. There will be no sale of pets to individuals under 16 year old.
Animal-cruelty
cases have become a major public issue in Singapore, a wealthy island where
most people live in compact high-rise apartments.
Hundreds of
pets are being abandoned each month after the novelty wears off or when they
grow too big to care for.
Agence France-Presse
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