Tighter pet sale guidelines should be celebrated

We thank Ms Angie Png of Angie’s Pets for her kindness in screening pet buyers to ensure their moral obligations to the animals, as reported in “Tighter guidelines on pet sale introduced” (Dec 31).

Such a practice is a staple of the pet adoption process to ensure due diligence. A companion animal is a helpless living thing in human society as it has no say in its future.

It is dependent on us, whether we are kind or evil; it can be bought, sold or evicted from home to home or into the streets; it can be loved and trained; it can be tortured without protection, despite the law. As fellow living things, we should therefore protect companion animals where we can.

Not many would voluntarily do what Ms Png has done, out of ethical belief. We are happy to partner any responsible pet shop keen to explore staff training in pet care or the provision of after-sales pet care information to customers.

Contrary to the statement in “Introduce mandatory three-day period to mull Pet Purchase Declaration” (Jan 3) that animal welfare groups are reacting negatively, my group applauds the efforts in this preventive approach to pet abandonment. It is an excellent first step, collaboratively.

It falls short, though, of our proposal in 2012 that pre-purchase screening include classroom training to understand pet care responsibilities, a signed agreement to sterilise dogs, cats and rabbits at eight months of age and post-purchase enrolment in a dog obedience class.

Such are steps taken in a responsible pet purchase and would prevent unnecessary repercussions due to the inability to cope with pets out of ignorance. The majority of pet-related complaints we handle now involve pet buyers and not adopters who have been trained.

Many companion animals in Singapore are the subject of cruelty and abandonment, mostly due to hasty buying decisions and a lack of knowledge about how to keep a pet joyful while living in high-rise, urban communities.

All the education the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority and animal welfare groups have done could not prevent this. Essential education allied with effective policies and enforcement could.

That said, this is another historic step for animal welfare here that should be celebrated, alongside the Animal Welfare Legislative Review, which began in 2012. But let us not be complacent.

The journey of improvement and doing right by the vulnerable, human or animal, must continue as Singapore continues improving for success.