SINGAPORE — Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said today (July 13) at an animal welfare forum that he wants to see the Chong Pang Cat Ownership programme replicated in other HDB estates.

He told Channel NewsAsia he will be approaching other MPs to take up the programme, which allows residents to own a cat in their HDB flat.

He said: “But of course we’ll need the NGOs’ support, we’re going to need the MND’s support, the MPs. I believe some of them will be willing to try it out, and then it can expand to other areas.”

Mr Shanmugam said the biggest challenge is getting the residents’ buy-in for the programme.

The event saw activists, volunteers and animal lovers raise questions from the culling of strays and wild animals to banning shark’s fin, or even banning the commercial sale of pets.

The Chong Pang Forum has become an annual affair for the animal welfare community in Singapore.

Activists said a key challenge now is manpower. The success of the animal welfare movement will depend on whether more Singaporeans are willing to come forward to volunteer their time and effort. CHANNEL NEWSASIA