Title	:	Culling of cats is part of clean-up of environment: Dr Vivian Balakrishnan
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Date	:	24 May 2003 2210 hrs (SST)
URL	:	http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/40563/1/.html

Minister of State for National Development Dr Vivian Balakrishnan says the culling of cats is not new, but an on-going effort to contain the 80,000 stray cat population from food establishments. State-of-the-art scientific tests are also being conducted by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, Environmental Health Institute and Genome Institute to see if animals can be infected with or transmit the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus. Dr Balakrishnan said, "The studies are on-going and we should have the results hopefully in 2 weeks or so. But we can't wait for answers before we take appropriate precautions. "As part of this, we've also have to clear strays, whether they're stray dogs, stray cats, rats, vermins or other pests. It's part and parcel of the attempt to clean up the environment, so that people can buy their food, eat and drink safely."