Plan to close pet shelter riles Singaporeans

Associated Press. Singapore May 9, 2000.

A GOVERNMENT decision to close an animal shelter has usually reserved Singapore residents signing petitions and threatening to chain themselves to the land.

"Some people are going to chain themselves to the land if they try to take away the animals," fashion business executive Bernard Teo said.

The government ruled that former owner and operator Raymund Wee, 52, must leave the farm housing his Noah's Ark Lodge by May 15 unless financial support is assured for his eclectic menagerie of 250 dogs, 250 cats, ducks, goats, a pony, a python, monkeys, a ferret and a civet cat

A group of ardent supporters petitioned President S.R. Nathan to ensure that no animals would die.

The animal refuge found itself at the center of a public maelstrom when Wee faced difficulty renewing the lease for the land, used without permission as an animal shelter.

Animal lovers collected more than 40,000 signatures on an appeal to officials to let the shelter continue when the lease expired in February, but the government now wants these people to help pay for the animals they say they care about.

HEART AND SOUL

Wee, who used grounds meant for commercial dog grooming and boarding to run the shelter, is heartened by growing support and what he says Singapore needs: a little heart and soul.

"We are not teaching our children to care about the things that matter. What's the use of being so successful as a nation if we cannot learn to be kind to animals?" he said.

The farm is tucked away in a secluded corner of the country amid fish farms and nurseries, a rare spot in urban Singapore where 90 percent of the people live in high-rise apartments.

Dogs roam freely, while there are enclosures for cats and a pond and wading pools for ducks and swans. A statue of Saint Francis, patron saint of animals, greets visitors, who are encouraged to come on Sundays.

"Raymund will rescue the animals that even vets have given up on saving. He has done that again and again," said a civil servant who helps out at the farm, on condition of anonymity. She said Singaporeans buy too many dogs and cats, only to find themselves unable to cope and abandoning them soon after.

Wee, who started the shelter seven years ago, says if he loses he will take his dream of an animal sanctuary somewhere else, perhaps to Malaysia. "I started this place to take in strays, unwanted and abandoned animals. How can someone else take my animals and be paid for it?" he said.

NO SPECIES REJECTED

Large or small, no species has been rejected at Noah's Ark and much effort has gone into saving and finding homes for domesticated animals. Wee says this may not be the same under the new operator of the officially approved dog kennel.

Singapore, with a population of nearly four million people, has some 35,000 licensed dogs and around 200,000 cats, most of them strays. There are no publicly run shelters, although several groups including The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are involved in animal rescue and adoption.

SPCA data for 1998/1999 showed only 401 dogs and 219 cats were adopted, while 2911 dogs and 7266 cats were destroyed.

The government, which transferred some monkeys and other exotic animals to the zoo saying they were unsuitable as pets, said the closure of Noah's Ark had been misunderstood by the public since the land had been sublet illegally.

"Our approach to the care of animals has always been responsible pet ownership, whether you own your pet or have adopted a stray," Ngiam Tong Tau, chief executive of the Agri-food & Veterinary Authority, told a news conference. He said the AVA had sought the consent of the new operator to keep some of the animals on a paid basis, ensuring their safety.

But animal lovers, disappointed by the closure of the shelter, wonder what will happen to those without sponsors.

"We are all protecting endangered animals and here they are putting them down," said Betty Kok of those dogs and cats with little hope for adoption.