Untrained animal catchers a cause for concern

TODAY | Apr 16, 2011

Untrained animal catchers a cause for concern
Tanya Fong

SINGAPORE - To round up stray dogs, for which the authorities pay S$250 for each captured, one dog catcher uses unconventional tools like fishing lines and hooks, which indirectly led to the death of a stray dog.

Such methods employed by some independent dog catchers have become a cause for concern for animal welfare groups, who are calling for animal capture to be done more humanely.

MediaCorp understands that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) pays external dog catchers - both independents and pest control companies - to capture strays. However, according to the AVA, "there are no structured training programmes for dog catchers".

External dog catchers have to comply with AVA's guidelines for capture, handling and transport of animals and the use of animal traps, said an AVA spokesperson.

In the case of the dog catcher, Mr Francis Lee, he has been fined by the AVA for his role in the death of the dog, which died from strangulation after being caught in a noose trap, after it fell into a drain next to the trap.

Mr Lee had been engaged "with the knowledge that he was an experienced animal handler based on his many years of work in animal transportation", said the AVA.

However, several stray dog feeders reported seeing Mr Lee in the Punggol and Serangoon North Industrial Park areas catching stray dogs using mattress spring coils.

Since November, they have been disseminating alerts on their personal Facebook page with photographs of his van.

The AVA impounds about 1,800 dogs annually, of which about 95 per cent are put down via lethal injection.

It culls strays to control the stray dog population and prevent diseases such as rabies.

The issue of how strays are handled also surfaced last month when a town council alerted the Cat Welfare Society (CWS) that a sterilised cat had been caught by mistake. When CWS found the cat, it found it had been kept in a cage wrapped in a garbage bag, without food.

Said CWS vice-president Veron Lau: "It puts into question the whole process of trapping, transporting and holding strays for which the pest control industry plays a big part.

"The animal welfare organisations are happy to conduct training in animal trapping but no pest control companies have come forward."

Both the CWS and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have also published guidelines on animal capture.

The general manager of Star Pest Control, Mr Bernard Chan, said that formal training is difficult because the job involves dealing with the unpredictable but combative nature of the animals during capture.

"We must be trained because the animals have been out in the wild and we have to protect ourselves as much as we try to be humane to the animals, said Mr Chan, whose firm has been contracted by the AVA to capture dogs.

While it may be difficult to conduct training, "we can, however, have guidelines and use conventional methods", he said.

Source:TODAYonline

TODAY | Oct 02, 2010

Strays' welfare matters
Letter from Veron Lau Vice-President Cat Welfare Society

I REFER to the report "AVA denies allegations that stray animals suffered in pound" (Sept 30).

It often makes people responsible feel better that the animal be put down by humane euthanasia.

However, humane euthanasia only refers to the way that the animal is put down, by injection, but glosses over an entire sequence of events leading up to this procedure - the trapping and handling of the animals by often untrained personnel from the pest control companies or home owners and the physical and mental deterioration of the animals before the termination of their life.

We have not known of any pest control contractors having the practice of transferring animals to a proper animal carrier after trapping, which is a common practice for animal welfare groups and volunteers trapping for sterilisation.

This is often the cause of injuries sustained when the animal thrashes around in fear inside the metal trap. The trapped cats may urinate or defecate from the stress. Their waste matter also stays on and corrodes the metal cages. The affliction of the animals in such circumstances is akin to trauma.

There have also been reports of animals kept for too long without food or water or without shelter before being sent to the AVA. This violates guidelines governing the use of animal traps.

If the AVA's stance remains to advocate humane euthanasia as one of the means of animal control, the term should not start and end at how the animals are put down.

The condition of the animals brought into the centre should be examined and patterns of negligence or mistreatment investigated while animals are duly treated and cleaned.

Pest control contractors, as well as pet shop operators and breeders, should go through proper training provided by the AVA. While pest control licences are under the jurisdiction of the NEA, if these contractors are to be engaged to trap animals, they should be held to animal welfare standards.

Source:TODAYonline

TODAY | Sep 30, 2010