Channel News Asia on June 16 published an informative anti-dog-buying piece by Siew Tuck Wah, president of SOSD (Save Our Street Dogs), a Singapore-based organisation dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming stray and abandoned dogs.​​​​​​​

The gist of his thesis? Puppy mills are unnecessary evils, but they exist because Singaporeans just cannot resist cute dogs.

Here are some of the startling claims in the article that will provide food for thought for anyone thinking of buying a dog anytime soon:

◘ Almost every puppy for sale in Singapore comes from a puppy mill, whether local or overseas.

◘ Puppies bred for sale are products of a multi-million dollar industry, that appears to be difficult to regulate.

◘ Breeding animals suffer as they become mass breeding machines, pushing out litter after litter of puppies, with little attention paid to their health, food and care.

◘ In Singapore, most puppy farms are located in farmway areas such as Pasir Ris.

◘ A total of 32 are registered with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).

◘ A rescue of 85 dogs from a commercial puppy mill in Pasir Ris in April 2010 exposed the horrors that went on behind closed doors.

◘ The dogs used for breeding suffered from skin diseases and infected wombs.

◘ Since 2010, AVA has made significant improvements in the licensing and regulation of puppy mills in Singapore.

◘ In June 2017, a Pasir Ris pet farm breeder was fined S$180,000 after a surprise inspection by AVA officers found dogs under his care suffering from poor health.

◘ Studies have shown that dogs from puppy mills display distressing behavioural and emotional problems, compared to dogs from more humane sources.

◘ Puppy mill dogs are also more aggressive towards their owners, people around them, and other dogs.

◘ The industry is driven by demand -- as long as people purchase puppies, puppy mills will always be in operation, whether locally or overseas.

◘ Many pet stores that import puppies from other countries, such as Australia, obtain their supply of puppies from puppy mills.

◘ The nature of a puppy mill, which is profit-driven, also suggests that owners are incentivised to spend less on space, food and care, especially those used for breeding.

◘ Instead of buying a dog, Singaporeans can adopt one from a shelter.

◘ Adopting not only saves the life of the animal, but also helps to address the stray dog situation in Singapore.

◘ Today, many breeding dogs are rescued and put up for adoption by animal welfare groups such as Voices for Animals.

◘ But one roadblock in Singapore is the archaic HDB rules that only allow one small breed dog per HDB flat.

◘ Most of the 1,500 dogs in animal shelters for adoption, on the other hand, are medium-to large-sized dogs which cannot be kept in HDB flats, according to the law.

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