By Faith Teo

AN anti-stray campaign launched by several town councils has been criticised by animal protection groups.

The groups believe the media put out information leading the public to believe that animals can carry the Sars virus.

They also blame the move by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) - to clear Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre of 40 dogs and 59 cats - for adding to the public fear.

A spokesman for AVA clarified that most culling is done by town councils which act at their own discretion. The frequency and extent of the stray round-ups are up to the individual town councils.

Mr Chok Kian Fatt, general manager of Aljunied Town Council, confirmed that there has been an increase in the capture of strays in the area, due to increased complaints.

'We hire a private contractor to round up the animals, and they are sent to AVA.'

The animals are then put down.

Mr Madhavan Kannan, head of AVA's Centre for Animal Welfare and Control, stressed there is no evidence as yet to suggest that pet animals can transmit Sars.

But people still choose to think otherwise despite similar assurances from the World Health Organisation and local vets.

Mr Ricky Yeo, co-founder of Action for Singapore Dogs, has an explanation for this.

GROWING MISCONCEPTIONS

'All the messages, conscious or not, can lead to growing misconceptions. Even if you mean it as a joke, it can lead to unnecessary fear in the public,' he said.

The result? Mr Yeo pointed to increased complaints from the public about strays, leading to a rise in culling.

Mr Kannan also confirmed the increase in culled strays: 'In line with Singapore's OK Campaign, the community/management bodies of estates have intensified their rounding up of stray cats in their precincts - especially in food centres, market places and areas where there are large number of cats which cause nuisance in their communities.'

Even cats under the Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme, which started in August 1998, are not spared.

The scheme was set up to allow volunteers to work with town councils to control the cat population through sterilisation and 'responsible management' of the cats, according to a document AVA sent us.

There are about 170 areas involved in all 16 town councils, as well as several private estates. The catch is that the cats are not spared when people complain.

Now, for the first time, ASD, the Cat Welfare Society (CWS), House Rabbit Society of Singapore and Metta Cattery are to hold a joint news conference today.

Said Mr Yeo: 'We don't want to clash headlong with the authorities, or be seen as being over-passionate, but we need to bring out the facts.'

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