AA & BW Betta Fighting Fish Challenge

28 Sep 2003

Asia Flower Horn Championship Exhibition

9 Jan - 16 Feb 2003

  The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority has confirmed that a campaign to cull stray cats is being mounted islandwide in the wake of Sars. An AVA spokesman stressed that the culling had nothing to do with any fear that cats were transmitting the Sars virus. There are about 80,000 stray cats in Singapore. Yesterday, 30 cats were culled, and the day before, the number was 25. (Straits Times 24 May 2003) (H1)

Clubpets - newest pet magazine launched

Nov 2002

  Taipei: Pet dogs and cats are being stolen in Taiwan and smuggled into China, as pet ownership becomes the latest trend among China's newly rich, the United Daily News reported yesterday. Neither China nor Taiwan can breed the pets fast enough to meet the demand, so many smugglers steal the most popular species from pet owners, the newspaper quoted unidentified breeders as saying. (Straits Times 2 Dec 2002) (1)

  The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has said that the number of unwanted animals it has taken in dropped to 10,500 in the year ending June 2002, from more than 13,000 the year before. SPCA's Executive Officer Deirdre Moss said that the number of animals taken in by SPCA had hovered at 11,000 to 12,000 a year for the past decade, hitting a high of more than 13,000 in 2001. (Straits Times 30 Sep 2002) (H3) 

  Last year, about 300 endangered creatures were confiscated by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA). The list is as follows: 12 frogs, 46 snakes, 19 spiders, 2 arowanas, 19 lizards, 163 birds, 38 tortoises and 5 mammals. (Straits Times 2 Sep 2002) (H5)

  Animal-welfare groups have applauded a new law passed in Parliament last week making abandonment a crime. Action for Singapore Dogs estimates that 10,000 stray dogs are wandering around construction sites and barren tracks of land around the island. The estimates for cats is about 200,000 and for rabbits, about 200 at any one time. The penalties for animal-cruelty offences have also been increased. Offenders can now be fined up to S$10,000 and jailed for 12 months, compared to S$500 and six months before. (Straits Times 14 Jul 2002) (24) 

  The SPCA takes in 60 to 70 unwanted rabbits each month. In 2001, about 1,000 bunnies were handed to the society. Each year, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore and the SPCA have to put down about 9,000 dogs and 12,000 cats. The number of animal-abuse cases has also gone up in the last five years. In 1998, there were 363 calls reporting such behaviour. Last year, the SPCA received 523 calls. Of the 300 dogs it takes in each month, about 90 are lost or abandoned. It also receives about 500 cats a month, most of which are strays. (Straits Times 11 Jul 2002) (H6)

  Five birds have been shortlisted by the Nature Society of Singapore's bird group in its hunt to find a national bird for Singapore. They are: crimson sunbird, olive-backed sunbird, greater racket-tailed drongo, black-naped oriole and the white-bellied fish eagle. The quest is part of the society's fourth annual nature day event being held over the weekend and today to showcase its work. (Straits Times 27 May 2002) (H1)

  Safra's new golf course in Kranji, Singapore's 23rd, will be pushed back some 60m from the edge of the Kranji Reservoir to protect the marshes that serve as feeding grounds for birds, which include several endangered species. (Straits Times 30 Apr 2002) (6)

  Last year, the Agr--Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) confiscated more than 300 wild animals, about 15 per cent more than in 2000. These included a gibbon, sugar sliders, slow lorises, parrots, tortoises, lizards, chameleons, snakes, frogs and tarantulas. The AVA also investigated 39 cases involving the illegal import, export and possession of endangered species, up from 34 cases the year before. (Straits Times 19 Apr 2002) (H1)

  Burglars stole about 200 Flower Horn fish worth close to S$30,000 from a new aquarium shop in Joo Chiat Road yesterday morning. They also carted away S$400 worth of fish food and S$4,300 in petty cash. This is the fifth case of fish theft and the second involving the theft of Flower Horn fish in a month. (Straits Times 15 Apr 2002) (H3)

  Thieves stole seven arowana worth close to S$20,000 from a shop in Jalan Bukit Ho Swee on Friday afternoon while the owner was busy talking to customers. There are more than 130 arowana fish in the shop. This is the fourth time in a week that fish thieves have struck islandwide. On Tuesday, a Lim Chu Kang fish farm found itself short of 50 arowana fish worth more than S$100,000 while two flower horn fish valued at S$20,000 were taken from a fish farm in Pasir Ris. This was two days after a prize-winning betta fish was snatched from Bukit Timah Plaza. (Straits Times 24 Mar 2002) (25) 

  Rottweilers, like bull terriers, Dobermans and German Shepherds, are classified as ferocious dogs, and owners must make sure they are muzzled and on a leash when taken out of the house, said magistrate Eric TIN when he imposed a fine of S$2,500 on businessman CHIN Kee Onn, 46, whose Rottweiler charged, pounced and bit the hand, stomach and left shoulder of Filipino maid Gina Batta Narang, 26, at Soo Chow Garden Road at about 8.45pm on Oct 17 last year when CHIN's maid had been walking the dog.  CHIN was also ordered to pay Miss Narang S$1,000 as compensation for her injuries and pain and suffering. (Straits Times 7 Feb 2002)(6)

  A cafe catering to dogs has opened in Monville Mansion in Balestier Road. The two-week-old cafe, named Urban Pooch, also provides for the dog owners, offering them sandwiches, set meals and coffee. (Straits Times 21 Jan 2002)(H1)

  Dog owners can now apply for licences online using a new electronic dog-licensing system (eDLS). They will then get an acknowledgement receipt with the application number. If it is approved, they can use a CashCard reader to pay for the licence. The licensing agency, AVA, will tell them the outcome by e-mail. Owners can also renew dog licences, check the status of their licences and pay fines online at ava-edls.calendarone.com.

  No space at home for your Koi? Rent space on a koi farm for between S$350 and S$750 a month (price includes meals for the fish but not insurance). Here are two koi farms: Nippon Koi Farm and Max Koi Farm. (Straits Times 12 Jun 2001)

  A dog fell 14 floors to its death from a Housing Board flat in Choa Chu Kang on 7 May 2001, raising initial speculation about whether it was thrown out or if it jumped on its own. The dog owner's son said on 8 May 2001 that the pet, a female mongrel, was not thrown out of the flat as the family was out when the incident happened. The dog had been kept in the master bedroom with an open window. Its body with broken hind limbs was found at the foot of Block 484D Choa Chu Kang Avenue 5 at around 3.330pm that day. (Straits Times 11 May 2001)

  An Indian national was on 23 Mar 2001 jailed for two weeks for kicking a kitten so hard that it died on the spot. Kathan Govindaraj, 36, was using the public phone near Block 4 Changi Village on 10 Oct 2000 when the kitten annoyed him by sniffing his toes. (Straits Times 24 Mar 2001)