Have you wondered what’s the real reason animal welfare groups have advocated adopting over buying of live animals?
These are the reasons:
It’s more than giving animals second chances. It’s about stopping cruelty.
It’s a pity that animals don’t grow on neatly planted rows like Japanese Yubari Melon shrubs that receive plentiful of room, sunshine, breeze and nurturing.
Or as much as we want to believe that cute puppies are being magically delivered by storks, the reality is that bulk of the puppies and kittens being supplied comes from puppy mills whose sole purpose is to force poor mummy cats and dogs to give birth.
Practically a factory, the difference is that the ‘machines’ are live animals yet puppy mills face less scrutiny from governing bodies as compared to actual factories that produce inanimate products for end consumers.
Faced with high operating costs, puppy mill owners are pressured to force every dime out of the hundreds of dogs and cats under their zinc roofs.
Many people understand that adoption means giving abandoned animals a second chance. Few people however, have the slightest clue how the almost secretive pet farms are run. How many have actually seen the hundreds of animals cooped up in rows after rows of rusty iron cages seldom more than a few feet wide?
All that glitters is not gold
And the puppy behind the store window comes from a dreadful place most can never imagine.
The fact is, it’s so easy to hide behind a shroud of cute puppies. Who would suspect, or even start to question how these cute puppies were bred when they’re there looking at you with those innocent eyes, pawing at the window and tumbling around with their toys?
Luckily for the internet and animal rescue groups like Voices for Animals, we are now able to have a glimpse inside the darker world of puppy mills.
Still, there’s a large demand for live pets and even after so many years of effort from animal welfare groups, live animals are still selling like limited edition Hello Kitties.
Very much like in our own lives, some puppies would find their way into loving homes while others may not be that fortunate.
Another shocking fact
Every month, SPCA Singapore takes in around 300 unwanted animals1. Since there’s no way adoption can match abandonment, worsened by space and resources constraint, the same animals who were once cute, loved, had a home and subsequently abandoned, or strays just minding their own business in Bukit Brown will eventually find themselves removed of their right to live.
Yes, large animal shelters are forced to put animals to sleep. They feel that it’s the ‘humane’ way of solving the issue of strays and abandoned animals. Contrary to what you may believe, animals in the shelter are not given much time.
What’s ‘Humane’
Luckily, smaller independent shelters in Singapore are refraining from euthanasia and most follow the belief that sterilization is the way to control the population.
By sterilizing strays and releasing them back or rehoming them, we hope to create the perfect scenario where one day all the strays are unable to procreate and able to live out their lives either in loving homes or in the wild – effectively creating a stray free Singapore, in a truly humane way.
However, this also causes immense financial pressure, be it to temporarily home them in a animal shelter or feed them in the wild.
How you can help – The overused phrase “Adopt, Don’t Buy”
But I’m still going to use it here it again. Adopt, don’t buy. If you or someone you know are considering to have a pet and don’t know if adopting is suitable, why not try fostering first? Fostering is akin to giving them a temporary home until they find a permanent one. Or maybe who knows, you might end up providing them with a permanent home? Give it a week to settle in, and I am confident that they will be all over you, thanking you for saving them.
Although we can’t help all of them and our actions may not make a huge difference in the world, but to the animals you have helped, your actions makes all the difference to their lives.
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa
How we are doing our part
We can’t do all the talking and not set an example.
Apart from teaching pet owners proper pet care on a daily basis, every decision we make – from the products we use and sell, the advice we give, grooming procedures, are governed by our ethics, morals, our philosophy of taking the natural approach and in the best interest of the animals.
If you have any questions, please come and talk to us! It’s a small shop (big in spirits and dreams!) but we’ve so many customers sharing the same vision as us and as a result, we’ve learnt so much from each another. So hopefullyI’m able to meet more like-minded people like you to share experiences, pick on each another’s brains in the spirit of perfect harmony and take steps to make this world a better place. :)
Best,
Sunny
Links
If you know of anyone who is looking for the company of a furry friend or would like to be a part of any Animal Welfare Organizations’ noble cause, please check out some of the links below!
Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD)
Animal Lovers League (ALL)
Cat Welfare Society (CWS)
Causes for Animals (CAS)
Exclusively Mongrels Limited
Hope Dog Rescue
House Rabbit Society of Singapore (HRSS)
Lily Low Shelter
Mdm Wong’s Shelter and Friends (MWS)
Metta Cats
Oasis 2nd Chance Animal Shelter (OSCAS)
Save our Street Dogs (SOSD)
Society for the Prevent of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)
Voices For Animals (VFA)
Zeus Communications
References
1. http://www.spca.org.sg/services_animal_shelter.asp
