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JUNE 14, 2003 STRAY cats saved from culling may get a new home at the Loyang Agrotech Park near Pasir Ris, and sterilised strays picked up by town councils may be handed over to animal welfare groups. The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority will release five parcels of land for animal lovers to set up pet shelters. The land area totals 2.3ha and each plot is between 0.4ha and 0.8ha, the AVA announced yesterday. Said AVA spokesman Goh Shih Yong: 'Any group interested in setting up such animal boarding facilities, which has proven experience in taking care of and providing boarding for pet animals, may bid for the land.' The leases can be renewed every three years, for up to nine years. Bidding begins on Monday. Colliers International director Wilson Ang estimates that industrial users would pay between $8,000 and $10,000 a month in rent in the Loyang area for a 0.4ha plot of land. But that could be halved if the bidders are animal welfare groups, which have smaller budgets. Still, not all the groups think shelters are the right way to tackle the problem, though Animal Lovers League president Cathy Strong said straightaway that she intends to bid for the land. She wants to set up a shelter for at least 5,000 cats, she told The Straits Times yesterday. Once the shelter is ready, she wants to expand the facility to include dogs as well. She estimates it would cost between $2 million and $3 million to build it, but is confident her group can raise the sum. They will have a shelter for 3,000 cats ready in Seletar by the end of the year. Mr Goh also said the AVA will consider turning over to animal welfare groups the sterilised cats caught by town councils. It is reviewing its stray cat rehabilitation scheme, and has asked town councils to avoid removing sterilised cats unless they are a public nuisance or have made their home in food establishments. The Cat Welfare Society, however, is convinced that shelters are not a sustainable solution. It would rather the Housing Board did away with existing rules barring cats from HDB flats, and believes sterilisation is the way to go in the long term. The society's president, Dr Lynn Yeo, said: 'There are many reasons why a shelter is not a long-term or practicable solution. 'There is a limit to the number of animals which can be sheltered and running costs will be crippling.' Copyright @ 2003 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. |