OTHER LICENCING CONDITIONS MOOTED UNDER THE FRAMEWORK
In order for pet owners to be licenced under the proposed framework, they should ensure that their cats are “kept under control” in public and take steps to protect their cats from indoor and outdoor hazards, such as by installing window grilles, meshes or other barriers to prevent cats from roaming or falling from height, said the AVS in a statement.
All first-time cat or dog licence applicants must also complete a one-time free online pet ownership course, before they can be issued a licence.
The online course will cover basic pet care skills and responsible pet ownership and would be available in the four vernacular languages.
To stem unintended cat breeding, Mr Tan urged owners to sterilise their cats as sterilisation brings health and behavioural benefits, since sterilised cats are also less inclined to roam and caterwaul.
Hence, for sterilised cats that are licensed during the two-year transition period, AVS will propose to issue free life-time licences, while fees may apply for new cat licences issued after the transition period for unsterilised cats.
“While we also plan to license unsterilised cats for free during the transition period, this licence will need to be renewed regularly following the transition period and at a higher fee,” he said.
Apart from pet cats, the proposed framework will involve expanding the Trap-Neuter-Rehome/Release-Manage programme for free-roaming dogs to include community cats.
The programme would build on an existing scheme to subsidise the sterilisation and microchipping of community cats since 2011. Plans are also underway to enhance funding support to include the trapping and boarding of community cats.
“This will allow us to better manage our community cat population holistically and in a humane and science-based manner, as we have done for our free-roaming dogs,” said Mr Tan.
From Saturday until Feb 1 next year, members of the public can find out more about the proposed framework and share their feedback through an online survey at go.gov.sg/cat-framework.
This article was originally published in TODAY.