All Pet Dogs Have To Be Licensed Before Sale From March 2017

Good news for all of us who believe in responsible pet ownership!

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has amended pet dog licensing rules to improve the traceability of pet dogs in Singapore.

New dog licensing rules starting March 2017

From 1 March 2017, the following new rules will in place:

• All pet businesses will need to license the dogs they intend to sell
• All pet businesses will have to transfer the ownership of sold dogs to their new owners via AVA’s online pet Animal Licensing System (PALS)
• Individual dog owners who sell or give their dogs away will have to inform AVA and update the new owners’ details

To make it more convenient for pet businesses to comply with the revised licensing requirements, they will be able to register multiple dogs intended for sale under a single “group” dog license.

The licensing fees will depend on the maximum number of dogs intended for sale.

Penalty

We’ve contacted AVA to ask about the penalty for breaking these new rules. Their representative was not able to share at this point but said that there will certainly be punishment for flouting the new rules.

According to the Animals and Birds Act (Chapter 7) on AVA’s website, anyone found breaking specific dog licensing rules shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.

Why the new rules

The objectives of these new rules are to:

• improve the traceability of pet dogs in Singapore, especially in the event of a disease outbreak such as rabies
• discourage pet abandonment
• help reunite lost dogs with their owners

We hope that the authorities will pair these rules with strict monitoring and enforcement.

A big concern we have is that group licensing for pet businesses seems to be vulnerable to loopholes.

Also, home breeders who are not licensed businesses would seem to be off the hook.

In any case, this is a good step forward for responsible pet ownership. Hopefully, there would soon be more rules around how animals, especially those for breeding are treated in farms and pet shops.

Photo credit: Uffdah!!! via Foter.com / CC BY-NC

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