Dog abuse in viral video occurred several months ago; handler’s accreditation suspended: AVS

SINGAPORE — A video clip showing a dog being abused and making its rounds on social media earlier on Wednesday (July 13) was from an incident in March this year, the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) said.

It added that the dog handler’s accreditation as a trainer has been suspended while investigations are ongoing.

In a reply to TODAY’s queries on Thursday, AVS — a cluster of the National Parks Board (NParks) — said that it is aware of a video in which a dog at K9 Connection was seen being abused.

K9 Connection markets itself as a training school for dogs.

AVS added that the incident occurred on March 20 and that the handler has since been suspended from a list of AVS-accredited dog trainers since March 25.

In a two-minute video uploaded on a Facebook page called Chained Dog Awareness in Singapore, a dog is seen walking within a green-painted kennel.

A man can be heard saying: “Bite me, ah… Welcome to hell my friend, four weeks of hell.”

The man then adds: “You make a single noise, you see what will happen to you.”

The dog backs into a corner as a man approaches it with a metal hook and a metal bowl.

The man says: “You want to try me? I will smash another bowl for you to see.”

He then hits the dog with the metal bowl a couple of times before throwing the bowl aside.

A short while later, the dog is seen laying on the ground and the man tugs at the animal’s leash forcefully.

AVS on Thursday said that it does not condone the mistreatment of community animals and warned that first-time offenders caught abusing an animal may be charged under the Animals and Birds Act.

If found guilty, they may be fined up to S$15,000 or jailed up to 18 months, or both.

AVS said that safeguarding animal welfare is a shared social responsibility.

The public may play a part by promptly reporting suspected cases of animal cruelty to AVS.

“As with all investigations, all forms of evidence are critical to the process, and photographic or video-graphic evidence, or both, provided by the public will help. Information shared with AVS will be kept strictly confidential,” the agency said.

Reports may be directed to AVS’ website or call the Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-1600.