Singapore sees surge in abandoned pets as inflation drives up costs of care

Hundreds of pets were abandoned in the city state last year despite offenders running the risk of imprisonment and a maximum fine of nearly US$8,000

Animal welfare groups blame pandemic-era ‘impulse buys’ and a decline in people working from home for the increase in abandonment cases

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Vaca, one of a litter of six puppies that were rescued from the Tuas area of Singapore last year by Action for Dogs Singapore. Photo: Facebook/ASDSingapore

Published: 11:01am, 20 Feb 2023Updated: 11:06am, 20 Feb 2023

Pet abandonment cases in Singapore have soared as inflation drives up the cost of caring for them, while some people who got their furry friends during the Covid-19 pandemic have also began returning to the office.

These new developments have cropped up alongside the “usual” reasons why pets such as cats, dogs and rabbits have been discarded by their owners, animal welfare groups said.

The government-run Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) said it investigated 310 cases of pets being abandoned last year. This was up nearly 38 per cent from 225 in 2021. There were 251 abandonment cases in 2020 and 230 in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) receives between 50 and 60 suspected cases of abandoned pets each year. The number has stayed consistent over the years, said its executive director Aarthi Sankar.

A screengrab from CCTV footage shows a cat being abandoned outside the main gate of the SPCA in Singapore. Photo: Facebook/SPCASingapore

However, abandoned pets can be challenging to identify, she said. In many cases, the group was alerted to animals that were not microchipped or registered.

“As there are currently no regulations requiring cats to be registered, it is even harder to identify whether a cat has been abandoned,” Sankar said.