PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON PROPOSED CAT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
The public consultation will run for six months, from September 2022 to March 2023, said AVS in a press release on Saturday (Sep 3).
This includes a two-month online survey for the public, which is currently available on AVS’ website until Nov 2.
It proposed expanding the existing pet dog licensing and microchipping scheme to include pet cats.
HDB told CNA this will allow cats to be traceable, and cat owners can be held accountable for their pets.
“This will help mitigate potential concerns about disamenities in the community,” it added.
The second proposal looks to extend the Trap-Neuter-Rehome/Release-Manage (TNRM) programme for free-roaming dogs to community cats as well.
Such cats will be sterilised after capture, and then rehomed where possible or released back into the community.
Thirdly, AVS proposed continued partnership with the community and animal welfare groups to explore ways to further promote responsible cat ownership, the adoption of cats, and responsible community cat caregiving.
“An example is sharing with new pet owners on caring for their pets. Such efforts will help to protect the health and welfare of our pets,” said AVS.
The agency aims to share the findings of the public consultation exercise and its revised recommendations in 2023.
PROJECT LOVE CATS AND #SGCATSINFLATS
A pilot programme called Project Love Cats was launched in October 2012 in Chong Pang.
The project was supported by its Member of Parliament K Shanmugam. The programme was also supported by the Ministry of National Development (MND).
Project Love Cats was effected to test a community management framework on responsible cat ownership, said AVS at that time.
In response to queries from CNA, the Cat Welfare Society said that Project Love Cats is still ongoing, adding that 126 registered households were identified through door-to-door engagement.
It also found that 90 per cent of the identified owners were responsible cat owners, while the remainder were “irresponsible and recalcitrant and contributed to the majority of cat-related feedback in their area.”
The Cat Welfare Society said its #sgcatsinflats surveys across five constituencies in 2022 showed continued support for its position, with approximately 91 per cent not objecting to the legalisation of cat ownership in HDBs.
“We are ready as a society to remove the cat ban and allow for responsible cat ownership in our HDBs,” it said.