5012? Actually there’s 8,000 more
Mama Porky, she who ru(l)es the KMM crew, talked today about the Singapore SPCA’s cat death toll “for the FY ending 30 June 06″.
No. brought in: 5,568
No. of adoptions: 358
No. claimed/rehomed/released: 138
No. in shelter: 60
No. humanely destroyed: 5,012
90% of the cats brought in to the SPCA are humanely destroyed (I love euphemisms!).Why? Because SPCA does not have the space nor financial resources to keep all 5,568 of them in the shelter.
Why were these 5,568 cats brought to the SPCA then? Because some of us humans have deemed that cats cannot and should not co-exist with us in our clean, modern urban dwellings. Ergo, these cats are condemned and kaput!
Of course, some of the 5,012 cats HAVE to be put to sleep because they were victims of OUR abuse, and letting them go is the solution to their physical and emotional suffering.
But what about the rest?
Indeed, what about the rest? Mama Porky goes on to say:
I know putting animals to sleep is a nasty job which the SPCA had to do. Because WE allow it to happen. And which is why I have decided NOT to donate to the SPCA. I know it also needs funds for public education and outreach activities and sterilisation of strays etc. SPCA has done a decent job in raising awareness of animal welfare and deserves a pat on the back. But I cannot sign on the dotted line, knowing that part of my donation would go towards the killing of 5,012 cats.
I think my money would be better used in sterilising the community cats in my neighbourhood and allowing them the chance to live out its life as a fellow being.
Well said, Mama Porky, well said.
On the comments page, someone said it could not be easy for the SPCA staff to administer the killing dose of euthanesia injection.
But then, that’s not the crux of the problem. The crux is that the number of cats being put down every single year is CONSISTENTLY in that range. Year on year, the national average for death to stray animals, aka homeless cats and dogs, by lethal injection is a whooping 21,000.
The breakdown?
AVA has said its average annual cull is 4,300 dogs and 6,500 cats (source: 13,000 cats put to death each year for just simply being born as cats (New Paper, 20050809)
The SPCA has said that it receives an average of 12,000 animals every year. Taking 90% of 12,000, 10,800 animals die because they are sent to the SPCA. Last year, I received info that the SPCA monthly intake averages 1,100 animals, 5-600 cats (mostly homeless ones), 3-400 dogs and the rest are made up mostly of small animals like rabbits, and hamsters.
These two organisations split their stray kill ratio rather evenly, so let’s use the AVA average as a ballpark. This also be because it is estimated that 13,000 cats are euthanised along with 8,000 dogs each year.
Thus:
| Org | Cat | Dog | TOTAL |
| SPCA | 6,500 | 4,300 | 10,800 |
| AVA | 6,500 | 4,300 | 10,800 |
| GRAND TOTAL | 21,600 | ||
(NOTE: The SPCA actual for the last financial years is less than the estimated one due to a 10% decrease in the number of animals surrendered from the previous year. Whether this will be a trend remains to be seen)
21,600 – what a waste of life!
What has been done to reduce this number? I think the problem is that the SPCA’s mission is too broad. Concerted action and plans are needed, and I see more effective measures in the CWS strategy of TNRM and its attendant tasks such as sterilisation and mediation.
Singapore has had a taste of TNRM, but unfortunately… just read Singapore’s Love-Hate Relationship with TNRM
That was how btmao and I got into this cat minioning gig. By doing TNRM – sterilising my neighbourhood strays and caring for them – I have control over how my money is used, and I am 100% sure none of it is channelled into “humanely” destroying lives because I believe strongly in no-kill. It’s simple, walk the talk, just walk the talk.
Going back to SPCA – there must be more that it can and should be doing. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate what it has done. But just look at the the San Francisco SPCA – a pioneer of the no-kill shelter movement.
San Francisco SPCA is SPCA. Singapore SPCA is also SPCA. All I can say, again, is walk the talk, just walk the talk.
The statistics quoted on this blog is a bit skewed, as far as I know, but it shows that not everybody is enamoured of the SPCA’s 90% kill rate:
This is crazy – pets should not be like all the other trivia that people buy and then get sick of a few weeks later.
The SPCA suggests microchipping and sterilisation to reduce the problem. But surely stricter limits on the breeding and sale of pets would be more effective?
SPCA
As Mama Porky asked:
Finishing them off with a lethal jab is, of course, the easiest way out to the “overcrowding” situation. But is it really humane? From whose perspective is it humane anyway?
When did they become lesser beings?
It is a question us all humanE ones must ask ourselves. Look deep inside youself, and think about it, my fellow humans.
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