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Straits Times Forum Online 28 Nov 05 Better way to deter feeding of stray cats Reply from SPCA and Cat Welfare Society Today Online 21 Nov 05 Cat feeding is the tip of the iceberg Reply by Tampines Town Council The Straits Times Forum Online 19 Nov 05 Town council concerned about feeding of strays Reply by Tampines Town Council The Straits Times Forum Online 18 Nov 05 Tampines Town Council barking up the wrong tree The Straits Times Forum Online 18 Nov 05 No strays, please. We are Tampines Council should rethink its anti-cat stance Today Online 18 Nov 05 No strays = social responsibility Letter from Geraldine Soh Geok Lian During a visit to the Social Responsibility Carnival organised by the Tampines Town Council on Nov 12, I was taken a back by two posters. There was a gigantic blue check mark on a poster bearing the words "An Estate Where There Is No Strays" (picture), while a "Feeding Stray Cat" poster, which featured a sterilised stray cat eating neatly off a newspaper, was marked with a huge red cross. Maintaining an estate devoid of cats does not equate with social responsibility. Neither is feeding strays socially irresponsible. As a country with first-world infrastructure, the Town Council's aim of a stray-less Tampines shows Singapore's backward mentality. The anti-cat stance harks back to medieval Europe's prosecution of cats, which were branded as heretical due to their role in "pagan" worship. In the same period that the church sponsored the Grand Inquisition, cats were tortured. Europe's cat population shrank to less than 10 per cent of its former numbers. Ironically, the Black Death brought a brief respite to such persecution in the 14th century. Cats rapidly multiplied and attacked the plentiful food supply: the plague-carrying rats. There is evidence that the plague (that claimed two-thirds of Europe's population) ended partly due to the rise in the number of cats. Similarly, after the Agri-Veterinary Authority cancelled the Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme in 2003 and culled more cats, a rat extermination drive was launched later that year. More taxpayers' money was spent as a result. Studies have shown the benefits of interaction with animals and how children exposed to pets develop tolerance, compassion and social responsibility. Unfortunately, the carnival instilled negative values in our children: the intolerance of other living beings in our community and the acceptability of a sterile humans-only Singapore. Lest we forget, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong stated during his walkabout in Kim Keat that it is not illegal to feed stray cats, but it must be done responsibly. Unless Singaporeans are proud of being a sterile nation, attitudes such as those held by the Tampines Town Council must change. The Straits Times Forum Online 18 Nov 05 No strays, please. We are Tampines Council should rethink its anti-cat stance DURING a visit to the Social Responsibility Carnival organised by the Tampines Town Council on Saturday, we were taken aback by two posters. One, featuring the tagline, 'An Estate Where There Is No Strays', had a gigantic blue tick on it while the other, 'Feeding Stray Cat', which featured a tip-ear sterilised cat eating neatly off a layer of newspapers, had an equally huge red cross. Maintaining an estate devoid of neighbourhood cats does not equate with social responsibility. Neither is feeding strays, per se, social irresponsibility. As a country with First World infrastructure, the town council's aim of a stray-less Tampines shows Singapore's backward mentality, lacking in the compassion Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wishes to inculcate in our countrymen. The anti-cat stance of the town council harks back to mediaeval Europe's persecution of cats. Branded heretical due to their role in 'pagan' worship, cats suffered mindless persecution. In the same period that the church sponsored the Grand Inquisition, cats were tortured en mass: hanged, burned at the stake, roasted alive, or killed on sight. So relentless was this persecution, the European cat population shrivelled to less than 10 per cent of its pre-inquisition number. Ironically, the Black Death brought a brief respite in the 14th Century. Then, the Europeans had neither time nor inclination to amuse themselves with cat killing. During this lull in their persecution, cats multiplied rapidly and attacked the plentiful food supply: plague-carrying rats. There is evidence one of the reasons the plague that claimed two thirds of Europe's population ended was the sudden increase in the number of cats. Similarly, after the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority cancelled the Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme in 2003 and culled more cats, a rat-extermination drive had to be launched later that year. Studies have demonstrated the benefits of interaction with animals and how children exposed to pets and animals appreciate and remember lessons of tolerance, compassion and social responsibility. Unfortunately, the carnival instilled negative values in young children: intolerance of other living beings in our community, and the acceptability of a sterile humans-only Singapore. Lest we forget, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong stated during a walkabout in Kim Keat that it is not illegal to feed stray cats, but it must be done responsibly. Unless Singaporeans are proud of being a truly sterile nation, attitudes such as the Tampines Town Council's must change. Geraldine Soh Geok Lian (Ms) This letter carries 10 other names The Straits Times Forum Online 18 Nov 05 Tampines Town Council barking up the wrong tree DOES the Tampines Town Council understand the meaning of 'Social Responsibility'? Does that mean 'eliminating' anything that causes even the slightest inconvenience? Why not show public toilets that are filthy, irresponsible people that leave food all over the table in food courts, garbage bins that smokers use as ashtrays, spitting, etc? Who is the real animal here? Marion Ng (Ms) The Straits Times Forum Online 19 Nov 05 Town council concerned about feeding of strays Reply by Tampines Town Council I THANK the writers of the letters, 'Council should rethink its anti-cat stance' and 'Tampines Town Council barking up the wrong tree' (ST, Nov 18), for their valuable feedback. Our social-responsibility message seeks to educate and engage residents to work with us in keeping the estate clean for their benefit. We are not against cat feeding per se, but are concerned with the indiscriminate feeding of stray cats which dirties the surroundings and results in an unhygienic living environment. The leftovers attract rats, crows, cockroaches, pigeons and other pests, which are detrimental to the health of the residents. Unattended food receptacles also pose the risk of dengue as they give rise to mosquito breeding. We frequently receive feedback from residents on indiscriminate feeding of stray cats. As a responsible town council, we have to act in the best interests of residents. Adelene Yeo (Ms) Public Relations Manager Tampines Town Council Today Online 21 Nov 05 Cat feeding is the tip of the iceberg Reply by Tampines Town Council We refer to your report, "No strays does not equal to no responsibility" (Nov 18). We thank the writer for her valuable feedback. Our social responsibility message seeks to educate and engage the residents to work with us in keeping the estate environment clean for the benefit of residents. We are not against cat feeding per se, but are concerned with the indiscriminate feeding of stray cats which dirty the surroundings and result in an unhygienic living environment. The leftovers attract rats, crows, cockroaches, pigeons and other pests, which are detrimental to the health of the residents. Unattended food receptacles also pose the risk of dengue as they give rise to mosquitoes breeding. We frequently receive feedback from residents against indiscriminate feeding of stray cats. As a responsible town council, we have to act in the best interests of residents. Adelene Yeo Public Relations Manager Tampines Town Council The Straits Times Forum Online 28 Nov 05 Better way to deter feeding of stray cats Reply from SPCA and Cat Welfare Society WE REFER to the recent correspondence on the feeding of stray cats in relation to the posters displayed by Tampines Town Council at a recent Social Responsibility Carnival. Although we agree that feeding of strays must be done responsibly, it is regrettable that the posters conveyed messages that promoted a 'stray free' environment while discouraging the feeding of stray cats. If the town council is not against feeding per se and was trying to convey a message to feed responsibly, it certainly did not succeed. Nor was it necessary to use this approach. We have found that notices such as these have the opposite effect in that they cause people instead to 'ghost feed', that is, to leave food and run off without getting caught, or even throw food down from windows. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), in June, produced a responsible cat feeding poster in three languages. It was sent to all town councils with a note that if they required additional copies, to let us know. This invitation still stands. The object of the notice was to create awareness among animal lovers on keeping the environment clean through responsible feeding of stray cats. The Cat Welfare Society also has a poster on responsible feeding, sterilisation and abandonment that we will be happy to send to any town council or volunteer that needs them. We would like to emphasise the importance of sterilisation in keeping the stray cat (and dog) population at bay. Killing simply does not work and efforts to find a more effective humane solution to the overpopulation of strays should be considered by the authorities. For members of the public who feed and care for strays and would like to have a stray animal sterilised, the SPCA has a voucher scheme which covers the cost of the operation at selected veterinary clinics. You can read more about it at www.spca.org.sg The Cat Welfare Society also has subsidised sterilisation slots for volunteers and runs workshops showing volunteers how to run trap-neuter-return-manage programmes to sterilise and manage stray cats in the neighbourhood. This programme includes solving any problems caused inadvertently by the presence of the cats. We are also more than happy to speak to any town council, management committee or residents' committee that wants to learn more about this programme. Finally, we invite any town council that has a problem with overpopulation of stray cats and is keen to try the sterilisation method, to contact one of the undersigned and we will be happy to meet you. Let us all work together to bring about a caring and responsible society which takes care of homeless animals too. Deirdre Moss (Ms) Executive Officer SPCA Dawn Kua (Ms) Director of Operations Cat Welfare Society links Related articles on Singapore: animal release including pets and animal abuse |
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