- Target:
- Immigration & Checkpoints Authority; Ministry of Transport; Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore
- Region:
- Singapore
- Website:
- www.facebook.com
Regarding the impoundment of the two cats at Changi Point Ferry Terminal, I have reached an agreement with Maritime and Port Authority of SG (MPA) to inform me in future before they trap and send any community cats to AVA.
According to the MPA officer, the cats were creating a mess at the ferry terminal and damaging sensitive equipment etc. Other sources have informed us that some volunteers from other areas in Singapore tried to mediate and were even in touch with the ground officers.
We do not understand how the cats ended up being impounded in spite of the mediation. One solution could have been to relocate the cats. In any case we are not pursuing the matter anymore and will close the petition since we have reached an agreement with MPA.
Thank you everyone for signing the petition and giving our Changi cats a voice.
We were alerted to the removal of two community cats from the Changi Point Ferry Terminal on Tuesday, 29 Dec 2015.
The community cats have been living in peaceful co-existence with visitors and Changi Village residents.
There was no attempt at mediation before pest control allegedly swooped in and removed the cats.
We are still trying to establish if it was pest control that took the cats. What we know is the cats have been impounded at AVA.
Update at 12 noon on 31 Dec 2015: The cats have since been bailed out by Cat Welfare Society volunteers.
Since time immemorial, Changi Village has been a sanctuary for community cats. Over the years, a group of dedicated, self-financing cat feeders have been feeding the community cats on a regular basis. Rain or shine, we reach out to the cats like they are our own children, and tend to their dietary and medical needs.
Changi Point Ferry Terminal used to be a sanctuary for the cats, beloved by the staff and visitors alike. Like the ferry terminal, the cats are an important emblem of Changi Village and its famous rustic charm. Changi Village is arguably the last remaining kampong in Singapore.
The proliferation of high rise buildings and other major urban developments have since endangered and threatened community cats in other parts of Singapore, but not at Changi Village, until now.
Imagine our shock and distress when we were alerted to the removal of our community cats from Changi Point Ferry Terminal on Tuesday, 29 Dec 2015. We do not have the exact date of their removal. We do not understand why they were removed and sent directly to AVA.
We are bewildered as to why the ferry terminal supervisors did not attempt to contact us to discuss a mutually agreeable solution.
We are aware that one of our feeders was warned by a cleaning staff not to feed but she informed him that our group of feeders practise responsible feeding at Changi Village. We were not given the opportunity to relocate the cats. We were give no options at all. Neither were the cats.
We, the undersigned, urge the Commander, Coastal Command/Operations Division, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority; the Ministry of Transport; and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore to look into the matter urgently. We urge you to allow the community cats to continue seeking refuge at the ferry terminal even as the monsoon season sets in. We seek your help to support our multiracial outreach to the community cats at Changi Village, and to help us restore the kampong spirit at Changi Village.
We, the undersigned, call on you to support our petition to protect the Changi Point Ferry Terminal cats.
The Protect Changi Point Ferry Terminal Cats petition to Immigration & Checkpoints Authority; Ministry of Transport; Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore was written by Four Paws at Changi Village and is in the category Animal Welfare at GoPetition.