Cat Ownership in HDB Flats
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the potential replacement of HDB cat ownership prohibitions with responsible ownership regulations and the possible expansion of the Chong Pang pilot program. Mr Murali Pillai raised these inquiries, to which Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong responded that pet ownership policies must balance the needs of all residents. The Minister highlighted that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority appointed the Cat Welfare Society as a nationwide mediator to resolve disputes and promote accountability. He stated that the success of Project Love Cats depends on sterilization, microchipping, and community-led conflict resolution to minimize living environment disamenities. Future expansion of the pilot depends on the Chong Pang project meeting its goals and the presence of strong community support in other areas.
Transcript
54 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the rule disallowing cat ownership in HDB flats may be abrogated and replaced with rules promoting responsible cat ownership; and (b) whether there are plans to expand the pilot HDB cat ownership programme in Chong Pang to other constituencies.
Mr Lawrence Wong: The Housing and Development Board's (HDB’s) pet ownership policies have to strike a balance between residents who are pet lovers and those who are not. A necessary precondition is responsible pet ownership. Most cat-related disamenities are due to the irresponsible behaviour of certain owners. Pet owners must ensure that their pets do not adversely affect the living environment in high-rise, high-density Singapore.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) works closely with HDB, Town Councils and Animal Welfare Groups to encourage responsible behaviour among pet owners. In May this year, AVA appointed the Cat Welfare Society (CWS) as a third-party mediator for cat-related issues nationwide. We hope that this will help bring affected parties together to achieve amicable solutions to cat-related disputes. AVA and HDB will continue to closely monitor the effectiveness of these measures, as well as to engage stakeholders on cat ownership issues.
The Member asked about the Project Love Cats pilot in Chong Pang. This is a community-owned project and requires the sustained support of residents, grassroots leaders and Members of Parliament. Its success is contingent on responsible pet ownership and neighbourly conflict resolution between residents. Among other measures, CWS has been working with the Chong Pang community to sterilise the cats to minimise the risk of disamenities and to microchip them to strengthen owner accountability. These are required for the long-term success of this pilot. We can consider further expansion when the Chong Pang pilot meets these outcomes and when there is strong community support in other parts of Singapore.