A new animal facility will be built in Sungei Tengah in Choa Chu Kang to replace the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore's (AVA) Centre for Animal Welfare and Control in Pasir Panjang.
Sungei Tengah is set to be an area with an animal focus - a number of shelters and pet farms are being relocated there, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is moving there at the end of this year.
AVA is looking to develop its centre to hold animals and conduct educational activities, according to tender documents obtained by The Straits Times. The new facility will sit on 0.4ha of land, and it will have amenities such as an animal holding area and a quarantine area - which includes a treatment room and an exercise yard - as well as an animal claim area. An education centre with an assembly area, and seminar and activity rooms will also be part of the complex.
"This project is to relocate the existing animal facility to enable AVA to continue to provide essential public services in terms of animal population management, and prevent the spread of animal diseases to safeguard public health," AVA said in the tender documents.
"This facility will be designed to allow access to the public for education purposes, claiming of lost pets and facilitate rehoming efforts."
The authority's existing facility at 75, Pasir Panjang Road is 20 years old. Asked why it is moving, AVA's reply was that the new facility "is to replace the current animal facility located at Pasir Panjang".
Animal welfare groups welcomed the relocation, saying it would allow for closer cooperation with AVA when shelters move there in about two years, when their leases in Pasir Ris run out.
Said Dr Siew Tuck Wah, president of animal welfare group SOSD: "It sounds like the AVA is expanding the centre, which is good because the current one is quite old."
However, Action for Singapore Dogs president Ricky Yeo said: "The location of the upcoming centre is off the beaten track, so when shelters move to the area, the authorities could look at improving the transport infrastructure in the area."
