Singapore’s animal shelters get first official set of guidelines

SINGAPORE – Animal shelters in Singapore now have the first set of official guidelines for their operations, nearly two years after the proposal was floated to stakeholders in a bid to improve animal health and welfare.

The guidelines were launched on Aug 28 at Paws in the City, the first adoption drive held by The National Parks Board’s Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) in the Central Business District.

Under the guidelines, the shelters will be able to reference minimum standards and best practices on how to manage animal healthcare, run housing operations, and oversee animal housing and environment, among other areas.

There are roughly 15 animal welfare groups currently operating shelters in Singapore, either self-funded or funded by public donations. Before the guidelines were available, they operated primarily according to their own internal practices.

The Paws in the City event at Guoco Tower, which runs until Aug 29, was attended by Minister of State for National Development and Foreign Affairs Alvin Tan.

Commenting on the guidelines, Tan said: “Through our engagements, we’ve received broad support to put in reference standards for animal shelters to strengthen accountability and transparency in shelter operations.”

In December 2025, it was announced that Animal Lovers League, one of Singapore’s pioneer animal welfare groups, had lost its tenancy at The Animal Lodge in Sungei Tengah, a facility supporting animal welfare groups and independent shelters.

It owed more than 50 months of rental arrears. Several of its animals were also sick and did not receive prompt or adequate veterinary attention.

Natalie Chan, deputy executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, welcomed the aligning of standards under the guidelines.

One such improvement is the sterilisation of animals, with the guidelines’ best practices stating that shelter animals should be sterilised where possible to prevent accidental breeding.

“For example, cat numbers are quite through the roof, we do regularly see hoarders with 30, 40 (cats). There was one where there were 80 cats in a four-room flat. So with sterilisation, we can actually help to keep numbers under control first and foremost,” said Chan, who was at the event to help 10-year-old toy poodle Tintin find a home.

While the guidelines do not have regulatory teeth, the AVS said they are meant to establish benchmarks and best operational practices for the shelter sector.

“AVS will continue engaging shelters and monitoring the sector’s adoption of the guidelines. This allows the sector to build familiarity with the standards and provides AVS with an opportunity to gather feedback to inform future refinements,” it said.

In a statement, AVS said the guidelines were developed after the cluster consulted its animal group rehoming partners for views and a discussion in September 2024 with stakeholders such as animal shelters, veterinarians and animal trainers.

A public consultation on the proposed guidelines was then conducted from December 2024 to February 2025.

The online consultation received more than 600 responses, with 82 per cent of respondents supporting the development of guidelines for animal shelters in Singapore.

Suggestions from stakeholders and the public were then incorporated into the guidelines.

These included expanding the definition of an animal shelter to state that its intent is for the animals to be offered up for adoption, as well as additional information to be included in records, such as the animal’s preferences.

Separately, AVS also revealed that it has worked with animal groups to facilitate the adoption of more than 2,700 local mixed-breed dogs, otherwise known as Singapore Specials, into HDB flats, under its Project for ADOption and ReHoming.