Animal Cruelty

Animal cruelty definitely exists in Singapore and that cannot be denied. However, the response to animal cruelty is surely underrated and overlooked in Singapore. Statistics of animal abuse in Singapore number in the hundreds each year, roughly around 800. This is roughly around 2 cases a day. Of course, this does not include those that have not been caught nor observed. Animal abuse should be receiving more attention in Singapore.
Every day, newspapers and the media portray the sad plights of sharks in Atlantic Ocean and conveniently forget the abuse cases that are happening in our own backyard. Singapore, that is. For example, more than a thousand rabbits are abandoned in Singapore each year in parks and reservoirs. Lacking their instincts to hunt and survive in the wild, they usually die of the lack of food and predators that they are unable to avoid. This further emphasizes that the media portrays the local animal abuse cases in a weak light, instead looking to the international community for more newsworthy items on animal abuse. The media can be of great use and an asset in reducing the number of cases in relation to animal abuse; however they merely concentrate on the “larger picture” and ignore the “minor details”.
Secondly, animal cruelty is surely overlooked in Singapore as a result of Singaporeans “I don’t care” attitude. When animal abuse cases come out to the open, although many Singaporeans are quick to sympathise and condemn, they do not bother to complain to the authorities nor ask “Why is this happening?” Only when the abuse cases have become extremely severe and heart-rending does one see the letters pouring in to the media. In a survey conducted by Today, the mains reasons Singaporeans give for this “I don’t care attitude” is not because that they do not care out of choice but rather they do not care because they are too busy or do not want to be involved with an argument with the animal abuser. This seems like a case only when they are not busy neither threatened can they afford to have a human heart. Therefore Singaporeans need to change their mindsets in order to curb this trend of animal cruelty and abuse by increasing awareness and breaking the “I don’t care” attitude.
Lastly, animal abuse and cruelty cases are on the rise simply because the owners did not know what they were in for when they bought their pets. In 2007, there were 876 cases of animal abuse. More than a third of them catered to pets being confined in an enclosed space and most of these cases were because the owner or owners had gone off for a holiday and had just leashed the pet to, for example, the balcony or the backyard. This proves that animal abuse cases are on the rise because Singaporeans are not aware how to take care of their pets and they did not realise the implications in having a pet in which they cannot take with them during their holidays. This unawareness then lead to more than 20 pets dying due to heatstroke and flu. The veterinarian’s diagnosis was that the pets were left out in the elements for too long. In order to combat this quickly rising unawareness, the public must then be made aware of the implications in having and pet and the responsibilities that come along with it.
In conclusion, three factors influence the rising animal abuse or cruelty cases in Singapore. One, the media hardly covers this topic, leading to Singaporean’s ignorance. Two, Singaporeans have a complacent and an “I don’t care” attitude. Lastly, Singaporeans are ignorant of what are the responsibilities in having and pet and how to care for them.