Singapore – Tough Conditions
A large dog frenziedly jumps in the air, so high that it is no surprise its cage walls are much higher than the others at the so-called Animal Lodge in Singapore’s semi-rural northwest.
It’s not the only sign that not all is well. There are rows of cages with little space, cats in cubicles with barking dogs next to them, a pervasive smell and signs of serious wear and tear in a brand-new facility. Online, there is plenty of chatter calling the complex a “concentration camp”.
A short rewind indicates that this is an anomaly after years of steady progress. Singapore has passed tougher laws against animal abuse. Within the past few months, it ended its policy of killing stray dogs, replacing it with the practice of capture-neuter-release. And within the past month, the authority in charge of animals has been rebranded and merged into the National Parks Board.
That is little comfort to some animal welfare advocates. Many groups used to run shelters on farmland in another part of the island, paying little or no rent, where they say the natural environment was ideal for dogs, which could spend plenty of time outdoors. The government decided to take back the land, and built a new facility to house at least 10 of the groups, along with commercial operators. The organisations moved in late last year, after largely failing to add their input about the design, size and layout of the facility.
The result is a cramped, prison-like atmosphere of wire and concrete, where hundreds of dogs are housed inside. Even the outside exercise areas between the uniform rows of buildings are all-concrete.
One of the buildings houses Oasis Second Chance Animal Shelter (OSCAS), co-founded by Mary Soo 13 years ago. Back then, she was given two months to capture stray dogs near Singapore airport before they were culled. She and her co-founder managed to save almost 80 of them, and so the group was launched.
“It’s a passion. I don’t know, maybe it’s a calling. I just love the dogs and I really feel they need help. It’s really sad. We’ve seen really sad things,” she says as her voice cracks and her eyes well up.
The Animal Advocates
The forced move to the Animal Lodge has been a rude shock. “We’ve become restricted and first of all we can’t afford it and we don’t have space. And because of my age as well, I’m 72, unless there’s someone who can take over, I’ll have think of reducing the animals I can help.”
She chats outside with Cathy Strong, who runs the a
djacent Animal Welfare League. Strong recalls feeling “pressured” to move here, and that “our dogs weren’t very happy about it, but we just have to make do.”
As Cathy puffs on a cigarette, they compare notes on their month-by-month struggle to pay the rent. Strong says some money has just come in from a donor, so she is set for this month, but will have to start all over again next month. Fundraising is a constant chore for both of them. (The rebranded Animal and Veterinary Service was given an opportunity to respond to the criticism of the new facility, but did not respond.)
The ‘Animal Lodge’
.png)
Mary Soo
Interior of the Animal Lodge
Larger dogs are hard to find homes for.
The Animal Lodge is also home to cats.
Cathy Strong
Puppy Mills
What the two animal advocates find particularly galling is to be right next to a building they consider a puppy mill.
“You should see the dogs for breeding. They’re in very bad shape,” says Mary of animals at some breeding facilities.
Commercial breeders supply Singapore’s pet shops, common in suburban malls. There are now even pet shops at the Animal Lodge, which is dotted with Pets for Sale signs.
Relations with the people working at the alleged puppy mill are not friendly. “They don’t talk to us,” says Mary.
The SPCA says oversight is improving, but there are still problems, as other groups have noted.
“The biggest concern is the conditions the animals are kept in during the time they’re used for breeding,” says executive director Jaipal Singh Gill. He says there are also pushy sales tactics for popular ‘toy dog’ breeds, where the sellers promote looks over health and temperament.
A compounding factor is Singapore’s famous public housing, known as HDB, which will not allow dogs over a certain size. That favours the breeders and not the shelters who look after larger strays. The SPCA says it is trying to change the regulations.
In the meantime, the plight of larger dogs looks bleak. There are still an estimated 7,000 strays on the streets. And the shelters struggle to convince locals that former strays are not vicious. “Strays make good pets,” insists Mary .
For now, the best hope for some dogs lies elsewhere. Groups like Causes for Animals are having some success arranging international adoptions (see video profile of one dog’s new life).
But until regulations and attitudes change, most will stay on the streets or in the grim confines of the Animal Lodge.