Understand the challenges of animal rescue before passing judgments: Shanmugam
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Dogs inside Animal Lovers League's (ALL) premises on Dec 8. ALL has lost its tenancy at The Animal Lodge, a facility supporting animal welfare groups and independent shelters.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Follow topic:
- Minister Shanmugam defends Animal Lovers League (ALL) co-founder Mohan Div, highlighting his compassion and dedication to rescuing abandoned animals.
- ALL, a no-kill shelter, faced funding challenges post-pandemic, prioritising medical bills, leading to potential management lapses, according to Shanmugam.
- AVS is addressing animal welfare concerns raised since December 2024, engaging with ALL, volunteers, and fosterers to support animal care.
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SINGAPORE – Minister for Home Affairs and Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam has called for the public to understand the difficult challenges of animal rescue and shelter work before passing judgments.
His comments follow recent reports of animal welfare group Animal Lovers League (ALL) losing its tenancy at The Animal Lodge facility after
Mr Shanmugam, who has known ALL co-founder Mohan Div for more than 10 years, wrote in a Facebook post on Dec 9 that Mr Mohan “is a kind, compassionate and humble person who goes the extra mile to help animals”.
“ALL, which is a no-kill shelter, takes in abandoned animals and strays, animals which could be in a worse-off condition if left on the streets. Many of these animals are also old and sick and very hard to care for or rehome. And these animals have a second chance at life because of Mohan’s hard work,” he said.
Mr Shanmugam, who is an animal lover himself and has adopted dogs as pets, said it has not been easy for Mr Mohan and ALL over the past years, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Donations reduced. Funds dwindled. And most of the funds received went towards the medical bills for animals,” he said.
Mr Shanmugam said there may be lapses along the way, and matters could have been better managed.
“But Mohan’s actions stem from good intentions. He should perhaps have sought help publicly when his funds ran low, and been more realistic about what he and his team could do,” he said.
Since December 2024, the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) has received reports from volunteers concerned about the health and welfare of the animals under ALL’s care.
Mr Shanmugam said these animal welfare concerns raised have to be addressed and that AVS has tried to manage the situation by engaging ALL and working with its volunteers, as well as with other animal welfare groups and independent fosterers on the ground.
“It is good that AVS is taking steps to deal with the situation. The animals need to be cared for,” he said, adding that people should understand the challenges before passing judgments.
“The focus now has to be on how we can all play a part in supporting animal welfare.”
