Singapore’s leading animal welfare organisations — the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) — have jointly released a landmark White Paper on 26 August 2025, calling for systemic reform to animal welfare protections in the country.
The White Paper outlines 15 recommendations across four strategic areas: enhancing public understanding of animal welfare, strengthening legislation and enforcement, safeguarding companion animals, and improving protections for wildlife.
It is the culmination of a year-long effort by a dedicated Committee chaired by former Member of Parliament Louis Ng. The Committee included legal experts, animal welfare advocates, veterinarians, and academics.
The recommendations reflect extensive public feedback collected through forums, stakeholder dialogues, and national conferences held throughout 2024.
Response to rising cruelty cases
The urgency of the White Paper is underscored by statistics from the SPCA’s 2024 Animal Cruelty & Welfare report, which recorded a 12-year high in animal harm cases. In total, 961 cases involving cruelty, neglect or welfare violations were confirmed, affecting 2,190 animals — surpassing the previous record set in 2023.
The rising trend reflects a 79% increase in cases from 2022 to 2023 alone. These figures have raised concern among lawmakers, the public, and civil society groups, prompting renewed calls for a comprehensive review of existing laws and policies.
Deep public consultation process
The White Paper’s recommendations are grounded in an extensive consultative process. Key engagements included:
- SPCA’s VOICE Conference (20–22 June 2024), a multi-day national platform for public discussion;
- A closed-door dialogue with animal welfare groups (27 June 2024);
- The Nee Soon Public Forum on Animal Welfare Policies (14 July 2024), which allowed community members to offer policy input directly.
Louis Ng noted that these platforms allowed the Committee to integrate public sentiment with international best practices and legal analysis.
“This White Paper is both data-driven and community-informed,” he said. “It reflects not just what the law says, but what society expects.”
Four key areas of reform
The recommendations are grouped into four focus areas, designed to comprehensively address both structural and behavioural gaps in Singapore’s animal welfare ecosystem.
1. Strengthen animal welfare understanding
- Establish an Animal Welfare Expert Advisory Panel to provide regular, independent advice to the government.
- Integrate animal welfare into the national curriculum via the Ministry of Education’s Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) programme.
These proposals aim to institutionalise empathy and awareness at both policy and societal levels.
2. Improve animal welfare legislation and policies
Nine recommendations aim to close loopholes, raise penalties, and professionalise animal-related services:
- Enshrine animal welfare principles in both the Animals and Birds Act and the Wildlife Act, covering psychological and physical wellbeing.
- Increase penalties and extend disqualification periods for offenders.
- Mandate platform liability for unlicensed animal sales online.
- Empower animal welfare groups with rescue powers akin to enforcement agencies.
- Introduce mandatory licensing for pet groomers and trainers to ensure quality and accountability.
- Ban the declawing of cats and debarking of dogs, which are considered inhumane practices.
3. Strengthen companion animal protections
Recognising the rise in pet ownership and associated welfare challenges, the White Paper proposes:
- Higher welfare standards in pet breeding farms, through changes to licensing and inspection protocols.
- A minimum purchase age of 16 for acquiring pets, to curb abandonment and impulsive purchases.
- Clearer euthanasia protocols, especially for healthy animals.
- A broadened Code of Animal Welfare, which distinguishes between basic compliance and best practices.
4. Enhance wildlife protection
Two key reforms aim to protect native and migratory species:
- Revise the Wildlife (Exemption) Order 2020 to remove or conditionally regulate previously exempted bird species.
- Ban or regulate the use of glue traps, widely criticised for their indiscriminate cruelty toward wildlife.
- Calls for enforcement and compassion
In releasing the White Paper, the leadership of SPCA and ACRES jointly emphasised that structural change must be matched by societal will.
“Animal welfare is not just a policy issue, it’s a reflection of who we are as a society,” said Walter Leong, Executive Director of the SPCA. “We urge the government to strengthen legislation and enforcement to support the community’s efforts.”
Kalai Vanan, CEO of ACRES, stated, “As we progress toward becoming a City in Nature, our compassion must match our ambition. With education, firm laws, and community effort, we can truly eliminate cruelty.”
The White Paper is expected to be submitted formally to relevant ministries and reviewed by legislative bodies in upcoming parliamentary sittings.
Table: Overview of 15 Recommendations
| Focus Area | No. | Recommendation |
| Animal welfare understanding | 1 | Establish Animal Welfare Expert Advisory Panel |
| 2 | Integrate animal welfare in school curriculum (CCE) | |
| Legislation & policy | 3 | Enshrine animal welfare principles in key Acts |
| 4 | Raise penalties for cruelty and neglect | |
| 5 | Lengthen disqualification for offenders | |
| 6 | Hold platforms accountable for unlicensed animal sales | |
| 7 | Strengthen powers for animal rescues | |
| 8 | License pet groomers and trainers | |
| 9 | Ban cat declawing and dog debarking | |
| Companion animal protection | 10 | Raise breeding farm standards |
| 11 | Set minimum age of 16 to purchase pets | |
| 12 | Clarify euthanasia safeguards | |
| 13 | Broaden Code of Animal Welfare for owners | |
| Wildlife protection | 14 | Review exempted bird species under Wildlife Order |
| 15 | Regulate or ban glue traps |
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