SINGAPORE \u2013 Eight of 35 pet businesses \u2013 seven pet breeders and one pet boarder \u2013 will not have their leases at The Animal Lodge renewed as they failed to show how they would do more to improve the welfare of their animals.<\/p>\n
The remaining 27 businesses will be able to renew their leases when their tenancies expire on Dec 5, said the National Parks Board\u2019s Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) during a media briefing on Sept 1.<\/p>\n
The Animal Lodge, built in 2017, is a facility for animal shelters and businesses such as pet breeders and boarders. It is located in Sungei Tengah and is managed by AVS. The 53 commercial units at the facility are now occupied by the 35 businesses.<\/p>\n
Commercial tenants in the facility currently have to meet a basic set of requirements<\/span><\/a> to lease the space for their businesses. Tenants there now include pet breeders, boarders and a pet crematorium.<\/p>\n As part of the requirements, tenants must provide every animal with an area that is sheltered and well-ventilated. All animals in each facility must also be checked at least once daily, among other requirements.<\/p>\n The Animal Lodge, built in 2017, is a facility for animal shelters and businesses such as pet breeders and boarders.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n But for the latest tender exercise, which will allow tenants to renew their leases for up to three terms till Dec 5, 2035, AVS had wanted them to show how they would enhance animal welfare beyond baseline regulatory requirements.<\/p>\n The tender exercise closed in April.<\/p>\n AVS director Trisha Eng said: \u201cBaseline regulations\u2026 are the minimum standards that are required to make sure the animal health and welfare is met, but there\u2019s always room to go above that\u2026 We saw this tenancy renewal exercise as the perfect opportunity to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n For example, businesses should show how they would provide better living environments for their animals. They should detail how they would implement more robust practices that consider health and biosecurity.<\/p>\n This could mean doing health checks for breeding animals twice a year instead of the mandatory once or opting for air-conditioning to keep the animals in an area that is sheltered and well-ventilated, noted Eng.<\/p>\n Tenants are also evaluated by their regulatory track record and ability to improve and uphold standards over time, AVS said. This encourages operators to enhance their practices, facilities and animal care capabilities, it added.<\/p>\n AVS declined to reveal the names of the businesses whose leases were not renewed.<\/p>\n AVS said it had engaged the tenants since November 2025 via more than 15 sessions, including through townhalls, tender briefings and workshops, as well as one-on-one sessions.<\/p>\n When asked what will happen to the animals under the unsuccessful applicants, Eng said AVS will support these tenants in facilitating their transition plans. These could be in the form of relocating, rehoming or selling them, she noted.<\/p>\n \u201cAVS will continue to keep a close eye on these transition plans to make sure that they\u2019re implemented (in ways) that would not compromise the health and welfare of the animal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The units that will be vacanted may also be made available through future tender exercises, allowing new entrants to participate, said AVS.<\/p>\n Cat breeder ChubbyBuddy<\/span><\/a>, one of the businesses given the green light to renew its lease, provides an air-conditioned space for its cats. It also conducts DNA testing for all its felines \u2013 a move considered additional to baseline requirements. Such testing can help identify hereditary health risks and determine whether the cats are carriers of genetic conditions that can affect their offspring.<\/p>\n Its founder, Sheryl Chia, added that the space \u2013 which houses about 50 cats \u2013 will be refurbished with new anti-slip flooring and its walls repainted.<\/p>\n Dog breeder Wellfond Pets is looking to renovate its four units to make its space more conducive for its canines. This can cost upward of $200,000, said its manager, Clarissa Choo.<\/p>\n Wellfond Pets manager Clarissa Choo (left) and senior pet consultant Juztin Choo with a mini dachshund at The Animal Lodge on Sept 1.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The renovation will include making the space \u2013 now partially air-conditioned \u2013 fully air-conditioned and include a free-roaming environment for the breeder dogs that are currently in kennels, said Choo.<\/p>\n \u201c(The ball) is always in our court to make this place better and comfortable for the dogs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Eight of 35 pet businesses \u2013 seven pet breeders and one pet boarder \u2013 will not have their leases at The Animal Lodge…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81487\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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