Founders say issues at Animal Lovers League due to old age, vet bills & competition from other shelters

The founders of the Animal Lovers League (ALL) have come forward to address the slew of issues that the shelter faces.

The no-kill animal shelter lost its tenancy at The Animal Lodge and is under investigation by the Commissioner of Charities (COC) following reports of neglect and mismanagement.

Volunteers at the shelter said that the owners repeatedly failed to care for the roughly 200 animals there, resulting in more deaths than adoptions.

Speaking to the media on Dec. 10, Catherine Lee Sai Lang Strong and Mohan Div Sreedharan said that the shelter struggled with a lack of funds.

This was due to pressures including rent, veterinary bills, and increased competition with other animal groups in Singapore.

"A lot of other animal groups have mushroomed across Singapore... so many registered and unregistered ones. The whole industry is so fragmented now," Mohan said.

"Everybody is out there soliciting for funds... [So] we don't get sufficient support."

Lee added: "We hardly receive any donations at all."

Stopped boarding

Mohan explained that in the past, the shelter drew revenue by providing an animal boarding service.

But as more boarding services opened up in Singapore, they decided to cease doing so.

At the same time, they continued to take in abandoned animals — which only increased after Covid-19, as more people gave up their pets.

"Once [the owners] walk away, we are stuck with so many animals. So many. Some of them with temperament issues, some with medical issues.

So some can be rehomed, some cannot."

While the shelter was able to handle day-to-day finances, it was the medical bills that proved "very debilitating", Mohan said.

"When we [bring them to the vet], it costs money. So the money just accumulates, the funds accumulate. Then it becomes a deficiency in the area where we pay rental."

ALL currently owes the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) about half a million dollars in rental arrears, or 53 months' worth.

It has also reportedly racked up debts of around S$300,000 at vet clinics around Singapore, according to volunteers.

Getting old

Lee said that she'd hoped to settle the rental arrears and "start over".

"I think I tried telling [AVS] to give us a little bit more time, like for instance, the sixth of next month... where I expect to have some money in.

Then I can settle the arrears. The most important thing is we have to settle the arrears."

But AVS chose not to renew the tenancy, citing continued mismanagement and neglect.

When asked why they did not surrender some animals to AVS, as offered by the statutory board, Mohan said it was a matter of accountability.

"We're not sure whether the animals want to live with them," he said.

At the same time, he acknowledged that running ALL has become "very onerous".

"We are also getting old," he said.

Addressed volunteers

Responding to the volunteers who had come forward to report the neglect, Mohan said that he and Lee have scaled back their involvement due to their age.

"We're not young anymore, the energy levels [are] less. [The shelter] depends on volunteers, and sometimes they tend to have their own opinions and ideas and all that. [It's] very bizarre to us."

Mothership previously spoke to four long-time volunteers at ALL, all of whom accused Mohan and Lee of failing in their duties as the shelter's owners.

The volunteers claimed they had repeatedly failed to get the animals adopted, allegedly refusing to adopt or foster them out, despite being unable to care for them.

AVS's response

In a separate media doorstop, AVS's director Trisha Eng shared that they had regularly engaged Lee and Mohan about the care of the animals.

After receiving feedback from the volunteers in December 2024, AVS inspected the premises and found some of the animals in inadequate conditions.

AVS then issued a number of directives and further encouraged them to surrender some of the animals to the authorities, she said.

It had previously taken a "measured approach" in acknowledgement of their good intentions, but despite the engagement, little to no progress was observed.

In view of the repeated mismanagement, AVS made the decision not to renew ALL's tenancy at The Animal Lodge, which expired on Aug. 5.

ALL will hence be required to vacate the premises as soon as possible.

In the longer term, AVS is working with other animal welfare groups to come up with a long term care plan for all the animals housed at the shelter, Eng said.

On Dec. 10, animal welfare group Purely Adoptions announced on Facebook that it will step in to help rehome some of ALL's animals.

Those who are interested to help rehome the animals can reach out to them at [email protected].

Top photo from Huang and Mothership