Pet businesses will soon have to license dogs before sale: AVA

SINGAPORE – All dogs sold by pet shops, importers and farms will soon have to be licensed with the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), even before they are sold.

AVA will be implementing the change to dog licensing rules from early next year. In addition, under the new rules, once a dog is sold, the ownership of the dog will have to be transferred to the new owner.

Such a move, AVA said, ensures that pet dogs are traceable in case of disease outbreak such as rabies. It will also help to discourage pet abandonment and assist the authorities reunite lost dogs with their owners.

Currently, dogs intended for sale are not required to be licensed to the pet businesses.

The revisions, said AVA chief executive officer Tan Poh Hong, will “strengthen the accountability of pet businesses and dog owners for their dogs, further safeguarding them against abandonment”.

He added that the agency is working closely with affected pet businesses to ensure a smooth roll-out of these revisions, and will be given sufficient time to comply with the new requirements.

To make it easier for pet businesses, they will be able to register multiple dogs intended for sale under a single “group” licence, with licensing fees tiered according to the maximum number of dogs intended for sale.

The transfer of ownership can also be done via the AVA’s online portal for pet licensing.

Calling the rule change a “long awaited, long needed move”, Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD) president Ricky Yeo said animal welfare groups like ASD, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Animal Lovers League had been pushing for it for some five years now.

The 48-year-old added that he has seen a rising number of dog abandonment cases, from one to two cases every few months five years ago, to one to two cases involving pedigree dogs every month now.

He said the compulsory microchipping of dogs, introduced seven years ago, was not very useful in preventing dog abandonment as it was not mandated by law that owners’ particulars had to be updated.

This new licensing requirement, he said, will make pet businesses “compelled to follow through with the transfer of licensing”, otherwise, they remain liable for the dog’s well-being.

Animal Lovers League founder Cathy Strong said licensing dogs at the point of sale is the “only way to nip the problem (of pet abandonment) in the bud”.

Dr Jaipal Singh Gill, SPCA’s executive director, said that it is not uncommon to find a dog with a microchip that’s not registered in AVA’s system. Some 200 unclaimed pet dogs are left at the SPCA every year on average, and most of these animals have microchips that cannot be traced back to their owners, he added.

Home breeders, who are currently unregulated, will slip through the cracks as well, despite the new rules. “The new licensing rules does not apply to them and they continue to remain a loophole in the system,” said Dr Jaipal.