NParks to review Animals and Birds Act, Code of Animal Welfare

To strengthen its safeguards on animal health and welfare, as well as public health and safety, the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) is reviewing the Animals and Birds Act.

AVS, a cluster within the National Parks Board (NParks), is also reviewing its code of animal welfare for the pet industry to address negligence in areas such as grooming and boarding.

These decisions were made five years after the agency embarked on its first review in August 2019, after animal-related functions of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority were transferred to NParks.

Speaking to The Straits Times, director-general of AVS Chang Siow Foong said: “(The reviews) will include penalties under the (Animals and Birds) Act, to ensure that they remain effective in deterring acts of animal cruelty and abuse.”

The review comes in the wake of several cases that made the news in the last few years. Recently, in what prosecutors called “one of the worst cases of animal cruelty”, Barrie Lin Pengli, 32, was charged in court after he vented his frustrations by abusing cats in the Ang Mo Kio area.

Besides kicking and suffocating them, he also killed two cats by throwing them off high floors at Housing Board (HDB) blocks. The prosecution has asked for 24 months’ jail and he will be sentenced on Nov 13.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) reported in October 2023 that it investigated 862 cases of cruelty and welfare concerns between July 2022 and June 2023 – the highest since the same period between 2011 and 2012.

And in 2023 alone, there were a number of shocking cases that drew the ire of animal lovers – among them, the arrest of a teenage boy caught on video trying to perform obscene acts on a cat outside a HDB flat, and a case of two emaciated cats found locked in a cage with the skeletal remains of three others in a rental flat in Jalan Minyak for over a month.

Under the current Animals and Birds Act, anyone found guilty of such an offence including abandonment of any animal, can be imprisoned for up to 18 months, fined up to $15,000, or both. Repeat offenders face up to three years’ jail, a fine of up to $30,000 or both.

Those who neglect or abandon their pets for the first time can be fined a maximum of $10,000, jailed for up to 12 months, or both. Repeat offenders face a fine of up to $20,000, jail of up to two years or both.

However, about 95 per cent of cases that are reported to AVS are not substantiated.

“In taking enforcement action for any case involving animal cruelty and abuse, AVS takes a holistic approach when considering the most appropriate action to be taken against offenders and considers the profile of the offender, the circumstances of the case, and whether there are any mitigating factors,” Dr Chang said.

“When we do all this, we actually put animal health and animal welfare, at the forefront so that remains very core to what we have been trying to achieve over the last five years,” he added. 

In its review of the Code of Animal Welfare for the pet industry, Dr Chang said AVS is also looking at the failure in duty of care from groomers and pet boarding facilities.

Under the existing code, such businesses are accountable when pets are left in their care. The animals must not be handled in a manner that would cause injury or distress, and not left unattended to.

Dr Chang said all commercial pet boarding facilities need to be licensed and, acting on information received, 12 unlicensed operators were taken to task in the first half of 2024.

Off the back of the death of a corgi that fell off a table at the groomer’s and got hanged to death by its leash, Members of Parliament (MPs) raised concerns on Sept 9 about the penalties for negligence in pet grooming facilities. They asked whether there are plans to introduce licensing requirements similar to those governing pet breeders and boarders.

In a written response, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said NParks had been notified of the incident and that investigations were ongoing, making it inappropriate to comment.

Breaches of the Code are not classified as criminal offences and, in the first seven months of 2024, the Consumers Association of Singapore received two complaints related to pet groomers.

Dr Chang said over the years, AVS focused on having a science-based approach to the managing of community animals and in raising the standards of both the veterinary and pet sectors, as well as creating awareness among the public.

For example, when the pet cat licensing scheme kicked in on Sept 1, 2024, owners can apply for licences for their feline family members, which means residents of HDB flats are legally allowed to keep cats for the first time since 1989.

Sept 1 marked the start of a two-year transition period until Aug 31, 2026, to help cat owners ease into the changes. By the end of the transition period, all pet cats must be microchipped and licensed.

“Internally, we have been working on biosurveillance and biosecurity so that we tighten up our border biosecurity at the same time to enhance animal health control here,” said Dr Chang.

“We also launched the biosurveillance research funding initiative to strengthen our One Health approach. We are looking at new tools to help us with disease modelling and to make sure that public health is actually protected,” he added.

Seeing how a holistic route to animal welfare worked for AVS in the past five years, the agency is continuing this approach, which includes awareness events such as Pets’ Day Out.

“We will continue to do public outreach and education, with a stronger focus on animal welfare in school curricula. We continue to work with stakeholders such as animal welfare groups and veterinarians to raise awareness on animal welfare and responsible pet ownership,” Dr Chang said.

Pets’ Day Out events, for example, reach out to the community through webinars, talks and roving exhibition panels.

“There is no silver bullet when dealing with animal issues. It takes more than one person to row this boat. In this sector, the industry, the vets, the authority and pet owners have to play a role.

“The owners play a central role, and that is why we are trying to activate them through all this outreach and education,” he added.