Allow all breeds of Dogs and Cats in HDB flats

SUMMARY

THE LIST (Yes- please feel free to post it in other forums or link them to this one as well but whoever posts it - please be responsible to connect with those people if and when we need to call a meeting hor. Thanks.)

The list is to know who's interested to support the petition. Actual petition signing might be later and we can see how we can get around protecting those who live in HDB and can be traced.

Right now- I need to know how many people really want to do something about it so that I can arrange a meeting with ASD, Cats Welfare Society etc. reps....and then we can discuss how we can take it off from there. If we have less than 100 people- dont see how we can take it off. Target is 10K people to 20 K people. Even if ASD can get a few thousand and CWS can get a few thousand- in the end we might just have 5K people. Not enough to cause a stir.

THE GIST OF THE PETITION TO HDB
(Note: we are keeping it simple and leaving out for now issues like a. multiple dogs in HDB b. muzzling of friendly dogs like GSD etc. We have to focus on key issues first).

a. to allow all breeds of dogs in HDB flats
b. to allow cats to be kept in HDB flats
as long as they are
-well taken care of (ie no abuse)
-well controlled (not allowed to disturb the neighbours)
-receive no complaints from neighbours

Rationale:
1. Big or medium sized are allowed in condos and privatized estates regardless of the size of the dog. So it is not really the size of the dog that is the issue. It is the issue of whether the dog is well behaved or not.
2. Rules on having one dog per household was made in 1980s/90s. It is time for review since lifestyles and attitudes have changed in Singapore.
3. It help ease the problem of strays since many are local dogs and are bigger than those allowed in HDB
4. It will help those who have dogs who are not HDB approved breeds. These want to licence their dogs in keeping with AVA rules but are afraid of HDB's response to them keeping those dogs. The move will prevent the abandoning of more dogs.
5. It will give homes to the many stray cats who have no homes.
6. Ensuring that licensing guidelines are easy to meet means more owners will be willing to license their dogs. This will come in useful in tracking if there is an outbreak of disease.

b. to allow voluntary dog and cat welfare agencies to certify the
- suitability of the person owning the pet ( the person must pass the course set)
- pet (dog or cat)'s temperament ie that it is suitable for HDB living.
Those who do not pass/ receive complaints (in the case of the pets)- will be asked to attend remedial classes to solve the problem.
Voluntary dog and cat agencies will help in building a FIRST WORLD CULTURE of being an animal-friendly community/country.

RATIONALE:
1.AVA and Town Councils will be spared the additional challenges of dealing with abuse/ complaints reports re dogs and cats if Animal Welfare agencies work directly with the community and with the authorities in policing the pet situation.
2 The government is always hoping for the people to be proactive in carrying out community bonding projects. This is one non-govt. initiated project that will bond people of different races, religions and social groups.
3. Dog and cat welfare organisations have a vested interest in making sure that the dogs/cats of the estates behave and are well accepted into the community. They have the motivation for doing not only a good job in what they are doing, they have the potential of proactively coming up with creative solutions to current and future challenges regarding these pets.
4. Pets also help the general population to distress and help to bring families and friends closer together while doing pets related activities, e.g. the recent National Day Dog Walk.