One would have thought that S'pore Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) would be the active voice in animal welfare. But the reality is far from it.
Many animal care givers associate AVA with animal extermination. This is especially so after the SARS incident where AVA went around killing all stray cats including those sterilised with their ears clipped for identification. These cats were looked after by care givers with the understanding that AVA would leave them alone. These care givers have been looking after their area strays for years. Imagine the emotional turmoil they went through to find them gone.
AVA reputation has never recovered since then. Till today, animals caregivers are wary of them. Even the general public who wanted strays remove from their environment would call SPCA rather than AVA. This is because they trust that SPCA will do it humanely, while they have doubt about AVA. Why ? SPCA staff selection process goes for those who care about animals. AVA ??
There have been reports that AVA rough handled animals subjecting them to unnecessary stressed. Even if these animals are to be ultimately put down, they should be treated humanely and terminated without undue suffering.
AVA's Corporate Vision is - "To be a premier organisation known for our professional expertise...", and some of their goals are :
* Develop a cohesive, innovative and professional workforce.
* Build a positive image and enhance community outreach.
* Promote animal welfare.
Have the organisation live up to its corporate vision and goals ? I think not. How could AVA be professional if instead of advising our government during the SARS period, they acted blindly on instruction given to them ? Civet cat with unconfirmed speculation to be carrier of SARS virus is a raccoon and NOT even a cat. Our innocent cats died because of word association ! Staff in AVA do not know about animal classification ? They are suppose to be the Veterinary Authority in S'pore !
Positive image ? They are S'pore official Animals Exterminator. Their policy regarding termination of strays and abandoned pets has not changed after all these years. They don't even try to get them adopted nor re-home. Only NGO animal welfare groups are struggling to do so.
Promote animal welfare ? Perhaps more to surface dressing. Just like our ministers going around planting trees and reserving carpark lots for their cars. More carbon footprints left behind while promoting a green movement. Then S'pore recent refusal to be part of the global initiative to reduce carbon emission.
If AVA really wants to promote animal welfare, then they should initiate if not actively support other animal welfare organisations trying to get HDB to change its outdated and illogical rule on cats/dogs ownership in public housing. HDB's restrictive rules have resulted in low adoption rate. This means more than 90% of the abandoned animals and strays are put down.
Due to AVA mass culling of cats during SARS, it is hard to erase the misconception that stray cats cause hygiene problem and civet cats carry SARs virus from the public mind, even after so many years. This is because most will think that if such cruel mass killing exercise was carried out by the government authority 'specialising' in animals welfare, then what they said must be true. Sigh..nothing is further from the truth !
Their community outreach has only produced lasting damaging negative consequence. Civet cat is an endanger species, and AVA has further endangered its status by engraving negative image of it in the public mind.
AVA needs to do something positively 'wonderful' in order to regain the trust of animal caregiver community in Singapore.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Why does it take so many years ?
The law on money lenders to deal with the illegal lending activities of 'loan shark' has finally been amended and likely to be pass in parliament. Why has it taken so many years before the government decided to act on this teething problem ? After all our skyline and landscape change at 'eye blinking' speed ?
Likely the government would be still 'pondering' over this issue, if not for the two Integrated Resorts which are opening soon. The problem will be compounded with the addition of the two legalized gambling venues. Thus, they needed to act now.
Perhaps it is also because the general election is just round the corner. It is good to appease the long suffering innocent victims of loan shark activities which are increasing in numbers over the years.
MM Lee leads the pack in needing years to come to a conclusion on the effectiveness of a policy before making a change. It was reported that he took 40 years before he realized that he made a mistake in our Bilingual Policy.
This is the same for the population policy which result in our current dilemma of falling birth rate. Only decades later they admit they made a mistake to effect another change in the law to encourage more babies.
Same goes for the law on organ donation. We need to have a high profile widely publicized lawsuit of illegal organ trading before the law is amended.
Can't the government exercise more initiative to effect changes. Must something 'drastic' happens before they can be propelled into action ?
Likely the government would be still 'pondering' over this issue, if not for the two Integrated Resorts which are opening soon. The problem will be compounded with the addition of the two legalized gambling venues. Thus, they needed to act now.
Perhaps it is also because the general election is just round the corner. It is good to appease the long suffering innocent victims of loan shark activities which are increasing in numbers over the years.
MM Lee leads the pack in needing years to come to a conclusion on the effectiveness of a policy before making a change. It was reported that he took 40 years before he realized that he made a mistake in our Bilingual Policy.
This is the same for the population policy which result in our current dilemma of falling birth rate. Only decades later they admit they made a mistake to effect another change in the law to encourage more babies.
Same goes for the law on organ donation. We need to have a high profile widely publicized lawsuit of illegal organ trading before the law is amended.
Can't the government exercise more initiative to effect changes. Must something 'drastic' happens before they can be propelled into action ?
Beauty in Simplicity
There is beauty in simplicity (most of the time).
Take for example the powerful equation of E = mc2. It takes a genius like Einstein to present the world with an elegant and simple relationship between energy and mass.
I have never thought of equations are like poetry until I came across this book, ‘Five Equations That Changed The World’ by Michael Guillen. In the book he said, “In the language of mathematics, equations are like poetry. They state truths with unique precision, convey volumes of information in rather brief terms, and often are difficult for the uninitiated to comprehend.”
Another example of beauty in simplicity is Chinese ink painting. Just a few stroke of the brush, we have fishes coming ‘alive’ on the drawing paper. The black ground is usually blank unlike Western style of painting which normally goes for details and richness in colour.
However, where Chinese characters are concern, I find beauty lies not in the simplify form but the ‘original’ form, though complicated to write. This is especially so for Chinese calligraphy. For example, the beauty of the words ‘longevity’ and ‘stork’ is lost if written in simplified form. Besides the simplify form cannot capture the three essences of Chinese characters : thought, sound and form. These elements make Chinese words an artistic medium in calligraphy.
In my previous post I mentioned that my 6 years of foundation in Chinese at primary school level was in the 'traditional' form. When the government switched to the simplify form - I was lost. Some may think that it should be easier to learn the simplify form, after all the strokes are minimum. But we have to understand how the brain works. It difficult to unlearn ground work. Besides, after the age of 9, to pick up a language (in my case to relearn it) is very difficult for most people, unless they have a flair for it.
For me the traditional form of Chinese characters have meaning attached to them - pictorially and auditory through the 3 essences of thought, sound and form. Thus, in a way it is easier to learn because of this reason. Simplify characters often lack these and I find it difficult to remember due to the missing 'meaning' element express through form.
Take for example the powerful equation of E = mc2. It takes a genius like Einstein to present the world with an elegant and simple relationship between energy and mass.
I have never thought of equations are like poetry until I came across this book, ‘Five Equations That Changed The World’ by Michael Guillen. In the book he said, “In the language of mathematics, equations are like poetry. They state truths with unique precision, convey volumes of information in rather brief terms, and often are difficult for the uninitiated to comprehend.”
Another example of beauty in simplicity is Chinese ink painting. Just a few stroke of the brush, we have fishes coming ‘alive’ on the drawing paper. The black ground is usually blank unlike Western style of painting which normally goes for details and richness in colour.
However, where Chinese characters are concern, I find beauty lies not in the simplify form but the ‘original’ form, though complicated to write. This is especially so for Chinese calligraphy. For example, the beauty of the words ‘longevity’ and ‘stork’ is lost if written in simplified form. Besides the simplify form cannot capture the three essences of Chinese characters : thought, sound and form. These elements make Chinese words an artistic medium in calligraphy.
In my previous post I mentioned that my 6 years of foundation in Chinese at primary school level was in the 'traditional' form. When the government switched to the simplify form - I was lost. Some may think that it should be easier to learn the simplify form, after all the strokes are minimum. But we have to understand how the brain works. It difficult to unlearn ground work. Besides, after the age of 9, to pick up a language (in my case to relearn it) is very difficult for most people, unless they have a flair for it.
For me the traditional form of Chinese characters have meaning attached to them - pictorially and auditory through the 3 essences of thought, sound and form. Thus, in a way it is easier to learn because of this reason. Simplify characters often lack these and I find it difficult to remember due to the missing 'meaning' element express through form.
40 Years of Language Experimentation
MM Lee has announced that he made a mistake regarding our Bilingual Policy which has resulted in generations of students put off by Chinese language. Besides, there is also lost of bright talent who went overseas to study when they could not make the grade for 2nd Language. Many of them never return to S’pore after completing their studies aboard.
So after 40 years of experimentation with our students, we are ready to start another round of experimentation – different learning strategy. Is there anything new to this ? I though we have been experimenting with different teaching methods all these years, not only with Mandarin but also the English language.
I am one of the 'causalities' of our government bilingual experimentation. I can speak Mandarin quite fluently, but this is after I took up Chinese instrumental, martial arts and Taiji in my adulthood. For this, I have my friends to thank, not the school education system.
I have great difficulty in writing and reading Chinese characters. If I have any regret in life – this is it. I wish I have master the Chinese language during my school days. I think I am able to immerse myself better in Chinese cultural appreciation if I could read up on the subjects of interest written in Chinese. Instead, I have to depend on the translated versions in English.
I was doing well in my Chinese subject at primary school level. I liked the subject. It was during my secondary school days that MOE did some major experimentation. We were introduced to ‘simplify’ Chinese characters and it became a compulsory passing subject in order to make the grade.
Many familiar characters became unrecognizable in their simplified form. Six years of grounding foundation uprooted ! The relearning process was difficult as Chinese characters are not easy to master. A single dot or a dash can change the meaning of the word.
Besides during secondary school days, the number of subjects taken is often double the numbers taken in at primary level. Many of these are new subjects. Then the stress of knowing that all the studying will come to nothing if one failed in the 2nd language.
To add to my woes, our Chinese lessons consisted of hours of monotonous reading and explanation by the teacher. It used to be my ‘napping’ time as the soothing voice the teacher hypnotized me into perpetual slumber during 2nd language period. Chinese had became my least favorite subject.
Besides, some of us do not have the flair for languages. MM Lee just realized this, after being enlightened by his neurologist daughter. I wish his enlightenment has come earlier. After all, I thought Dr Lee W L has been a neurologist for decades ? Why did she not enlighten her father earlier ? They live in the same household, don't they ?
I used to have Hokkien speaking neighbours and classmates, but I never pick up the dialect. During my adulthood, I have Malay colleagues and friends. I try to learn the language but have not been successful.
I know my limitation in learning a 2nd language. Though I passed my final Chinese examination, but it is regrettable that after studying the language for 10 years, I end up only able to speak it. And it is only because of my immersion in Chinese culture related activities in my adulthood
I often wonder if I could have a better grasp of the language if there had been no major changes in the education policy and more creative teaching method employed during my school years.
I have learnt to live with my limitation. We need not be the master of everything. We just need to be the master of our fate.
So after 40 years of experimentation with our students, we are ready to start another round of experimentation – different learning strategy. Is there anything new to this ? I though we have been experimenting with different teaching methods all these years, not only with Mandarin but also the English language.
I am one of the 'causalities' of our government bilingual experimentation. I can speak Mandarin quite fluently, but this is after I took up Chinese instrumental, martial arts and Taiji in my adulthood. For this, I have my friends to thank, not the school education system.
I have great difficulty in writing and reading Chinese characters. If I have any regret in life – this is it. I wish I have master the Chinese language during my school days. I think I am able to immerse myself better in Chinese cultural appreciation if I could read up on the subjects of interest written in Chinese. Instead, I have to depend on the translated versions in English.
I was doing well in my Chinese subject at primary school level. I liked the subject. It was during my secondary school days that MOE did some major experimentation. We were introduced to ‘simplify’ Chinese characters and it became a compulsory passing subject in order to make the grade.
Many familiar characters became unrecognizable in their simplified form. Six years of grounding foundation uprooted ! The relearning process was difficult as Chinese characters are not easy to master. A single dot or a dash can change the meaning of the word.
Besides during secondary school days, the number of subjects taken is often double the numbers taken in at primary level. Many of these are new subjects. Then the stress of knowing that all the studying will come to nothing if one failed in the 2nd language.
To add to my woes, our Chinese lessons consisted of hours of monotonous reading and explanation by the teacher. It used to be my ‘napping’ time as the soothing voice the teacher hypnotized me into perpetual slumber during 2nd language period. Chinese had became my least favorite subject.
Besides, some of us do not have the flair for languages. MM Lee just realized this, after being enlightened by his neurologist daughter. I wish his enlightenment has come earlier. After all, I thought Dr Lee W L has been a neurologist for decades ? Why did she not enlighten her father earlier ? They live in the same household, don't they ?
I used to have Hokkien speaking neighbours and classmates, but I never pick up the dialect. During my adulthood, I have Malay colleagues and friends. I try to learn the language but have not been successful.
I know my limitation in learning a 2nd language. Though I passed my final Chinese examination, but it is regrettable that after studying the language for 10 years, I end up only able to speak it. And it is only because of my immersion in Chinese culture related activities in my adulthood
I often wonder if I could have a better grasp of the language if there had been no major changes in the education policy and more creative teaching method employed during my school years.
I have learnt to live with my limitation. We need not be the master of everything. We just need to be the master of our fate.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Singapore Strays
Why are our Singapore strays always being blamed for everything? During SARS period, stray cats were rounded off to be killed, though they were free from the virus. In Singapore, we human were the carriers and transmitters of the disease.
Stray cats are also often blamed for cleanliness issue which is caused by irresponsible feeders and pet owners.
Now the strays are in the spot light again, though indirectly. The caption in the Straits Times regarding the increase in the number of folks being bitten by dogs is accompanied by a photograph of a stray dog in the foreground and kids in the background. Sigh...I am sure its life is coming to an end soon, as AVA will be targeting it and other strays for termination.
Reading the article, there is no mention of strays biting human. If pet dogs are the culprits, who is responsible ? The owners of these pets.
How did stray dogs become strays in the first place ? Many were abandoned by their owners who either have no time for them or cannot handle them any more.
Are we becoming a country of 'intolerance'?
Even our homeless and dissolute instead of seeking help have to hide from the authority to avoid being rounded off. Oh yes, they exist but they have to remain 'invisible' if they wish to have their freedom. If this is how we treat our fellow human beings, what hope is there for the stray animals in Singapore ? They are just 'sore eyes' to the authority.
It has not been many years back when we folks live harmoniously with animals around us. Does development mean having a 'sterile' place devoid of humanity ?
POST NOTE : I attend SPCA meeting on 24/11/09 and confirm that the increase in biting incidents is from pet dogs. The strays are innocent.....Sigh !
Stray cats are also often blamed for cleanliness issue which is caused by irresponsible feeders and pet owners.
Now the strays are in the spot light again, though indirectly. The caption in the Straits Times regarding the increase in the number of folks being bitten by dogs is accompanied by a photograph of a stray dog in the foreground and kids in the background. Sigh...I am sure its life is coming to an end soon, as AVA will be targeting it and other strays for termination.
Reading the article, there is no mention of strays biting human. If pet dogs are the culprits, who is responsible ? The owners of these pets.
How did stray dogs become strays in the first place ? Many were abandoned by their owners who either have no time for them or cannot handle them any more.
Are we becoming a country of 'intolerance'?
Even our homeless and dissolute instead of seeking help have to hide from the authority to avoid being rounded off. Oh yes, they exist but they have to remain 'invisible' if they wish to have their freedom. If this is how we treat our fellow human beings, what hope is there for the stray animals in Singapore ? They are just 'sore eyes' to the authority.
It has not been many years back when we folks live harmoniously with animals around us. Does development mean having a 'sterile' place devoid of humanity ?
POST NOTE : I attend SPCA meeting on 24/11/09 and confirm that the increase in biting incidents is from pet dogs. The strays are innocent.....Sigh !
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