POOR LIVING CONDITION IN PET SHOPS
On Feb 6, we posted about the poor living condition of rabbits at a popular petshop chain in Singapore. We were frustrated with the small living space and the insanitary condition of the rabbit cages. AVA contacted us on Feb 10 and offered an investigation. We cooperated and furnished all required evidence.
On Feb 10, AVA responded to us with their investigation result. They contacted the petshop chain in question and requested the following improvement to be made:
– Adequate spacing should be provided for the rabbits and any rabbit who has outgrown their enclosure should be transferred to larger enclosure
– Cleaning schedule should be improved and store assistants should be more aware of their bedding and sanitary level.
– Staffs who has worked for 6 months and longer should attend formalized training for the pet retail industry.
In addition, the petshop chain has also feedbacked the following:
– Recycled paper beddings are used in all their rabbit cages.
– Rabbits are separated by gender to prevent breeding.
– There is always one staff in the shop who has veterinary training.
Some of the proposed improvements were vague and we have requested clarification. Our intention to share this feedback is to update everyone on the good followup by AVA and encourage you to work hand in hand with our local authority to improve our animal welfare. We also hope that you can serve as the voice for our animals and the eyes for our authority. If you see any petshop not conforming to the above guidelines, do not be afraid to highlight this. We are optimistic that our government will work towards a better future of our animals. We have to.
We will continue to advocate strongly on our motto to ‘ADOPT, DON’T BUY’. Please support us.