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Be the voice for what you believe in

Went with my darling & Ruth to the Singapore Animal Symposium 2009 on Saturday. It was an eye-opener for all of us - how animal lovers would take the stand to be the voices of our animal friends. There were aplenty of issues discussed such as animal rights vs animal welfare. However, the main discussion of the day was animal welfare. I am really proud of the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) as Dr Lou & Dr Leow had both seemingly put their effort in explaining what they have done for the various issues and they are very open to suggestions. I am also enlightened by the panellists from different animal welfare societies, as well as the participative audiences.

There was a particular issue which was brought to our attention. Cats are NOT allowed as pets in HDB apartments; cats also have NO license. I wasn't aware of this fact as I knew of many friends who have cats as pets. I only discover about this when a friend emailed my darling recently.

There were a couple of reasons why:

"Cats are not allowed to be kept in HDB flats as they are difficult to be confined within the flats. The nuisances caused by cats such as shedding of fur, defecating/urinating in public areas, noise disturbance etc would affect the environment and neighbourliness in our housing estates. In view of this, HDB has the policy of not allowing cats to be kept in HDB flats." quoted from HDB - http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10209p.nsf/WPDis/Keeping%20of%20PetsOverview?OpenDocument

I do not agree with this. My darling used to keep a cat named, Kat and he was so well-behaved; better disciplined than my dog. Kat did his business in the designated area for him. I believe cats can be trained to obey and they do not cause much trouble after being sterilised. I can be one of the many life witnesses.


I must say there were many issues which caused me to be deeply upset, like how animals in the zoological gardens worldwide are made to do tricks & performances which are not in their genetic nature to do so and how much unexplainable / undescribable agony was inflicted on these creatures.

I do agree that between pets & licensed animals, one of them dominates the other, which in this case is safer for us human beings to be in control. However, in the first place, I do not agree with the fact that wild animals should ever be made to do things not in their nature solely for the sake of entertainment & businesses.

Saying the abovementioned, I do not mean the extreme by implying that all zoological gardens should flee the wild animals back to the wild. I do agree that in countries like Singapore, zoo is one of the places that we can learn about animals which do not inhabit in this part of the world. Additionally, I believe that the relationship between the zookeepers & the animals are important. Fear in long-term is not a solution to any healthy relationship. Just take for instance between a child & his / her parents, the child would grow up not wanting to share about his / her thoughts & emotions with his / her folks.

At the end of the symposium, the 3 of us (darling, ruth & I) decided to sign up for the The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) membership in addition to volunteering for the cause. I am genuinely inspired to do whatever I can to help to salvage this already tragic situation. Everybody can do their part; I believe that there is still hope when people are determined to take baby steps.

Knowledge can change your life.

Yours sincerely,
Pamela Pang Y. N.
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