More dogs can be rehomed in HDB flats after size limit increase

SINGAPORE — More local mixed-breed dogs can be rehomed in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats after the permitted height limit was increased on Sunday (March 1).

The National Parks Board’s Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) announced in a media release that it has raised by 5cm the height limit for local mixed-breed dogs to be rehomed under the Project Adore (Adoption and rehoming of dogs) scheme to 55cm. The 15kg weight limit for such dogs has also been removed.

The expansion in the programme will be a two-year pilot led by AVS and supported by the HDB, in partnership with animal welfare groups. All adopters will be required to comply with ownership conditions and a code of responsible behaviour under AVS.

"Given the good progress in the past eight years, we have now reviewed the criteria for Project Adore to allow more dogs to be rehomed," said Ms Sun Xue Ling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and National Development, in a statement.

"We will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure that proper safeguards are in place, and that responsible pet ownership is practised."

Project Adore was first started in 2012 with the aim of rehoming mid-sized mixed-breed dogs in HDB flats in order to reduce the number of stray dogs on the street. More than 1,300 local mixed-breed dogs have been rehomed under the scheme as of end-2019.

Around 250 local mixed-breed dogs find new homes under Project Adore each year. Under the new size limits, around 50 more dogs can be rehomed per year. The expanded size limits will also allow for more mixed-breed dogs under the Trap-Neuter-Release-Manage programme to be rehomed, AVS added.

In addition, AVS said that it would extend its pilot scheme to allow the public to adopt retired sniffer dogs under Project Adore for another two years. This is because there had been no retired sniffer dogs available for public adoption during its original one-year pilot.