The number of cases of animal cruelty and poor welfare rose to 961 in 2024, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
This is the highest figure in 12 years, said the animal welfare agency in its 2024 Animal Cruelty and Welfare Report released on Tuesday (7 Jan).
The figure of 961 cases last year was 46 more than the 915 reported in 2023 and a steep rise from the 511 in 2022.
Source: SPCA Singapore on Facebook
The total comprised 283 cases of cruelty — defined as the intentional infliction of pain, death or suffering.
The lion’s share — 678 — involved cases of poor welfare or neglect, i.e. failure to meet an animal’s basic needs, resulting in poor living conditions and suffering.
Source: SPCA Singapore on Facebook
Across the cases, 2,190 animals in total fell victim to cruelty and poor welfare last year.
That means an average of six animals were subjected to suffering or death each day in 2024.
While this is lower than the 3,245 recorded in 2023, a case involving more than 1,000 fish and 50 terrapins inflated the number that year.
The number of 2,190 animal victims in 2024 is also significantly more than the 753 in 2022.
Among the animal victims last year, the vast majority of 60% were cats.
A total of 453 animals fell victim to cruelty, including abandonment, physical abuse, death, inhumane trapping, hit and runs, and exposure to aversive training methods.
The majority of cases involved abandonment, with the second-highest number to do with physical abuse.
Source: SPCA Singapore on Facebook
Again, the majority — close to half — of the victims were cats.
Source: SPCA Singapore on Facebook
One of the cases flagged by SPCA was a community cat in Whampoa who was allegedly thrown from a block in the estate.
Another case mentioned was that of a poodle who died after being beaten and hung from a balcony railing.
SPCA also said a monkey who entered a home was trapped in a cage and spray painted with white paint in July.
The homeowner then released the monkey outdoors, saying that the paint was meant to deter the monkey from returning.
SPCA has referred the case to the authorities for further investigation.
Worryingly, there has been a rise in animal cruelty cases involving youth, SPCA said.
In 2024, 15 of the animal cruelty cases had youth perpetrators, compared with six in 2023 and seven in 2022.
Source: SPCA Singapore on Facebook
Some cases suggested malicious intent, including:
Boys terrorising a community cat with fishing rods at North Bridge Road. Source: Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
SPCA expressed concern over these cases, saying:
While the number is still small, it is deeply concerning when we consider that these are our youngest members of society.
Parents and other significant adults play a crucial role in fostering respect for animals among their children, SPCA added, warning that if the situation is not arrested, “they may get desensitised to animal cruelty and regard it as the norm”.
Among the cases of animal cruelty were 120 cases of abandonment.
A total of 257 pets were abandoned last year, more than half of them cats.
Source: SPCA Singapore on Facebook
The cases cited included:
Moving on to poor animal welfare, the 678 logged in 2024 was a big jump from the 531 in 2023 and 314 in 2022.
Source: SPCA Singapore on Facebook
A total of 1,737 animals were victims, most of them cats.
One of the cases involved a cat that was kept in a cage at a first-floor service yard for up to a year, emaciated and living in filthy conditions.
After being rescued, it was found that she had barely any teeth left and had to be shaved down because her fur was matted beyond salvage.
She ultimately passed away from pneumonia.
In another case, a poodle was found wandering the 11th floor of an HDB block. She was found to have severely matted fur on all her limbs, with overgrown nails that had curled and dug into her paws.
After an appeal, her owner came forward two weeks later, saying she had financial difficulties.
Additionally, SPCA also responded to 23 hoarding cases involving a total of 355 animals.
Most of them were cats.
Pet hoarding is the accumulation of animals beyond a person’s ability to care for them adequately, leading to a health hazard for either the human or the animals.
Some of the cases encountered were:
Given the sobering statistics, SPCA called for the Government to strengthen animal protection laws and enforcement.
“This includes imposing stricter penalties as a deterrent and imposing greater accountability on those who make a profit by offering pet-related products or services,” it said.
As SPCA is a non-governmental animal welfare charity, it has no legal authority to intervene in many cases of animal cruelty.
This includes collecting CCTV footage, removing suffering animals from owners and entering private premises without permission.
Thus, it urgently needs enhanced powers so it can intervene when time is of the essence, it said, adding:
Animals cannot advocate for themselves. They rely on us to be their voice.
Also read: Man who abandoned 43 cats in Ang Mo Kio flat sentenced to 20 days’ jail
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Featured image adapted from Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
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