http://www.mnd.gov.sg/Newsroom/Speeches/speeches_2M_191104.htmSPEECH BY SECOND MINISTER FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, MR LIM SWEE SAY
AT THE LAUNCH OF AVA’S RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP PUBLIC EDUCATION PROGRAMME ON 19 NOVEMBER 2004, GREAT WORLD CITY
Just like any other urban society elsewhere in the world, pet ownership is on the rise in Singapore. Today, some 40,000 households keep dogs as pets. Many others keep cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, birds and fish and so on.
2 People keep pets for many different reasons. A pet can be a faithful companion, a loyal playmate, a blind person’s guide, or a child's best friend.
3 As an owner of a lovely Golden Retriever myself, the joy of owning a pet is beyond description. It is like having one more member in the family. It also adds to the growth and development of my teenage son, teaching him the meaning of responsibility, respect and compassion.
4 Keeping a pet is not just about having plenty of fun. It brings with it certain obligations and responsibilities to the pet and to the community at large too. To be responsible pet owners, we need to know our pets’ needs and look after their well being. Most of all, we must be prepared to commit ourselves to provide a lifelong home for our pets. This means never to abandon our pets, come what may – whether they get old or sick, or when our children get tired of owning them! Unfortunately, some pet owners are simply irresponsible. Pet abandonment remains a problem in our society.
5 Take stray cats as an illustration. The number is estimated at 60,000. To keep the situation under control, we end up having to cull some of them every year to slow down the population growth. Even so, the stray cats are still multiplying at a rate of 20% a year.
6 We must never forget that culling stray animals is at best a short term solution. To find the longer term solution, we have to address the problem at source - Responsible Pet Ownership is the key. Stepping up public education and increasing public awareness of responsible pet ownership is the way forward, if we ever hope to effectively contain the growing number of stray animals on our streets without overly relying on culling.
7 Last month, AVA organised the Pet Adoption Drive. In addition to today’s launch, AVA has also embarked on several public education initiatives. These include talks at schools and libraries, and mass media publicity in newspapers, and through radio and television.
8 The one and only message we aim to convey loud and clear to all pet owners and potential pet owners is - “A Pet is for Life”. To succeed in putting across this message to the public at large, we need the close collaboration of AVA, the animal welfare organisations and the community.
9 I am heartened to see that AVA is not alone in this effort of promoting responsible pet ownership and reducing the problem of stray animals. The six animal welfare organisations present today have contributed much to this worthy cause for quite some time now. I take this opportunity to commend you for your commitment and dedication to improving animal welfare.
10 I am hopeful that by working together – Government agencies, animal welfare organizations, current and future pet owners, as well as the community at large – we can spread the message of responsible pet ownership in our community, reduce the population of stray animals on our streets, and raise the standard of animal welfare in Singapore.
11 Let’s all strive to be responsible pet owners, and keep our pets for life.
