Singapore plans to impose tougher penalties on animal abusers, Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said today amid a 65 per cent spurt in cases of cruelty against animals in the country since 2007.
Singapore needs to adopt strict measures to safeguard animal welfare in the form of heavier penalties and more education, Shanmugam said on the sidelines of the Asia for Animals Conference here.
Currently, animal abusers face a fine of Singapore dollars 10,000 (USD 7890) and a jail term of up to a year or both.
In April last year, the Animal Welfare Legislative Review Committee (AWLRC) recommended to increase the maximum penalty to Singapore dollars 50,000 (USD 63370) and or three years' jail.
Shanmugam noted that the number of animal welfare and cruelty cases handled by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) increased by more than 65 per cent in half a decade -- from 292 in 2007 to 484 in 2012.
He said that enforcement is challenging, as finding witnesses who are willing to come forward, is not easy. And education may just be the answer to that.
"The larger issue is if you educate society, the whole tenor of the society changes and people are much more aware, and on the look-out -- then I think it is easier to identify who was responsible. We are on the right track, we are moving, and we need to move further," Shanmugam was quoted as saying by Channel NewsAsia.
The Asia for Animals Conference is hosted by the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) and it saw some 320 participants from over 30 countries and territories.
Suspected cases of animal abuse have been reported in Singapore by the local media, including killing of stray dogs.
Animal-cruelty cases have become a major issue among the public with hundreds of pets being abandoned each month.
