NParks launches public consultation to seek input on review of the pet sector

- Community invited to contribute their views in an online survey on raising standards of pet sector in Singapore

Following the announcement in August this year that the National Parks Board (NParks) will be working with the community to strengthen animal health and welfare standards, NParks launched the public consultation today during Pets’ Day Out at Parks Festival, to gather input for the review. The public consultation will be held over two months, starting today, 26 October 2019 and ending on 26 December 2019.

NParks is looking into raising the standards of breeders and boarders to safeguard the health and welfare of animals involved. It is also looking at enhancing the traceability of pets, which will be critical in protecting public and animal health.  Since August, NParks has been conducting focus group discussions with various stakeholders in the pet sector on these initial focus areas. Participants from the pet sector include representatives from pet businesses such as breeders, boarders and pet shops, animal welfare groups, the veterinary profession, and academia. More focus group sessions will be conducted from now till January 2020.

Based on initial inputs from these stakeholders, NParks is now gathering views from the public through the public consultation. The consultation will be conducted online through a survey on the Animal & Veterinary Service’s webpage at www.nparks.gov.sg/petreview and via roving public exhibitions. NParks will be collating inputs from the public consultation as well as the focus group sessions, and these will be shared in early 2020. The inputs will be used to shape pet-related policies, and will be underpinned by science.

At the focus group sessions with stakeholders so far, there was consensus that pet breeding and boarding standards should be raised. Other suggestions included enhancing guidelines to ensure animal health and welfare, certification and training for the staff, and greater measures to deter errant breeders and boarders.

Ms Sun Xueling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and National Development, said, “We are heartened by the interest and support from various stakeholders in NParks’ pet sector review. Focus group discussions are ongoing and NParks will continue to engage stakeholders in the coming months. The wider community has also expressed interest in our plans to enhance animal welfare. NParks will thus be rolling out several touchpoints through which the public can provide their feedback. I encourage the public to actively share their views with us so that with their help, we can strengthen animal health and welfare while safeguarding public health. We hope to share more details on our plans early next year.”

On traceability of pets, participants recommended that measures could be introduced to encourage more pet owners to license their dogs. Participants also suggested having a common registry to encourage owners to microchip cats and dogs.

Another key area discussed was the gap in public knowledge about pets, from things to look out for when purchasing a pet, boarding a pet and how to behave around animals.

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