Maintaining an estate devoid of cats does not equate with social responsibility. Neither is feeding strays socially irresponsible.
As a country with first-world infrastructure, the Town Council's aim of a stray-less Tampines shows Singapore's backward mentality. The anti-cat stance harks back to medieval Europe's prosecution of cats, which were branded as heretical due to their role in "pagan" worship.
In the same period that the church sponsored the Grand Inquisition, cats were tortured. Europe's cat population shrank to less than 10 per cent of its former numbers.
Despite the efforts, cats rapidly multiplied and attacked the plentiful food supply: the disesase-carrying rats. There is evidence that the plague ended partly due to the rise in the number of cats.
Similarly, after the Agri-Vetirinary Authority cancelled the Stray Cat Rehabilitation Scheme in 2003 and killed more cats, a rat extermination scheme was launched later that year. More taxpayers’ money was spent as a result.
There is benefits of interaction with animals and how children exposed to pets develop tolerance, compassion and social responsibility. Unfortunately, the actions taken by the Town Council instilled negative values in children, the intolerance of other living beings in our community and the acceptance of a humans-only neighbourhood.
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong had one stated during his walkabout in Kim Keat that it is not illegal to feed stray cats, but it must be done responsibly. Unless Singaporeans are proud of this attitude, the Tampines Town Council must change.
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