Pets’ Day Out, organised by the NParks’ Animal and Veterinary Service, is a monthly event that brings together animal welfare groups, pet businesses, veterinarians and pet lovers through pet-related activities.
The first Pets’ Day Out was organised on Saturday, 17 August 2019, and was held at HortPark alongside NPark’s signature Gardeners’ Day Out event.
Earlier this year, NParks took over as the lead agency for the animal and wildlife management from the former Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.
Activities at Pets’ Day Out
At NParks’ Pets’ Day Out, there were pet-friendly retailers selling various pet-related products…
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…and services.
The Animal & Veterinary Service vets also conducted free pet health consultation and micro-chipping for those who had registered online.
Demonstrations, workshops and talks were also held on topics such as preventing toy aggression.
There was also a BirdCraze Showcase at the Hort Lawn where visitors could view and take pictures with colourful birds.
A section of Pets’ Day Out featured Animal Welfare Groups such as Mercylight, Causes for Animals Singapore, Cat Welfare Society, House Rabbit Society Singapore and Hamster Society Singapore.
This zone was aligned with Pets’ Day Out’s aim at promoting the rehoming of shelter animals.
Engaging the Pet Community
Pets’ Day Out is part of NParks’ efforts to engage the community of pet owners in Singapore in relation to pet-related issues. Through these community events, NParks aims to gain feedback to shape and strengthen animal health and welfare standards in Singapore, including traceability of animals.
Said Ms Sun Xueling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and National Development and Guest-of-Honour at the inaugural event, “To truly safeguard animal health and welfare, we must ensure responsibility and a duty of care along the value chain for which our pets and community animals come into contact with. So we need to work with breeders, boarders, pet associations, pet businesses, veterinarians, AWGs and the public to decide on those common standards to adhere to and to leverage technology where possible.”
