Animal rights groups rap reason for not changing Act

SINGAPORE — Two animal welfare groups have appealed to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to reconsider its decision to maintain the current definition of animals — which does not include some pets and wildlife common on the island — under the Road Traffic Act.

The MHA told this newspaper recently that it had reviewed the Act — which, among other things, requires drivers to stop and help certain animals if they knock them down — and will not proceed with any amendments.

In a media statement on Sunday, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) criticised the MHA’s argument for keeping the Act unchanged: That it is not always safe for motorists to stop after hitting an animal.

The activists pointed out that drivers who hit the animals listed in the Act — such as a dog, horse, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or cattle — are already required to stop and help them.

Currently, failure to help such animals — which the activists described as farm animals — may result in a fine of up to S$3,000 or a jail term of up to a year for motorists.

However, the Act is silent on other animals such as cats, monkeys, birds and rabbits.

Reiterating their call to expand the definition of animals, the two groups said the current legislation sees it fit to place the value of farm animals above the perceived risk faced by motorists who are already required to stop and help the animal that has been hit, or at least remove the carcass for the safety of other motorists.

“Why, then, should this be different with cats and other wild animals that now thrive and flourish in Singapore?” said the activists, whose statement was supported by several other animal welfare groups.

The activists’ hopes for more animals to be covered by the law were raised last year, when the Ministry of National Development accepted a recommendation by the Animal Welfare Legislation Review Committee to align the definition of animals under the Road Traffic Act with that of the Animals and Birds Act, which states that an animal means any mammal (other than man) or fish.