Our sanctuary in Malaysia will turn 15 this year. Although it seems as if it was just yesterday, time has not been so kind to it and its many residents. Many of them have crossed over to Rainbow Bridge taking a little part of us with them. I know I can speak for many of us who are grateful to Raymund for having the vision to dream of a stray free Singapore as well as of building an animal sanctuary for abused, abandoned and stray animals to support that goal.
It is very heartening to note that Singapore is moving towards that vision with respect to our stray cat population. The decision to sterilize stray cats in Singapore so as to reduce the numbers culled has finally been reached by authorities. Noah's Ark CARES's stand has always been that sterilization is the only humane way to reduce any stray population: previous efforts at stray sterilization have led to a 30% reduction in the number of stray cats collected last year by the authorities.
We at Noah's Ark CARES sincerely hope that in time this decision will be extended to our stray dog population in Singapore. The recent proliferation of animal welfare groups concerned about Singapore strays is evidence that there is growing public awareness that a more humane way to reduce the stray population is needed. We hope that this plea will not remain ignored for much longer.
Even whilst we applaud these tiny steps of progress, we know that the work for animal welfare is never done. At Noah's Ark CARES we continue to work to maintain the sanctuary: that has in its short 15 years seen many upheavals. At times it felt that we would not be able to survive the many crises, a few notable ones being the devastating floods in 2009, the financial crisis in 2007 which saw a sharp decline in financial support, the boundary issue which affected our clinic and several structures . The challenges remain plenty and never ending. Nevertheless we take courage from the trust our animals have in us and our many supporters. Our animals know that we will never abandon them, that our promise to care for them till their last breath will not be broken.
Similarly, our efforts to educate people about the joys of adoption and responsible pet ownership must continue earnestly. For it is through creating greater awareness that we will heighten public consciousness. Hopefully, there will come a time when the need for a sanctuary becomes redundant, when each animal finds a loving forever home.
Till that time, we remain committed to running the sanctuary, knowing that it will continue to provide a home for the many abused and abandoned companion animals that we have taken upon ourselves to call family.
Noah's Ark Fund Raising Dinner
To celebrate our 15th year in Pekan Nanas and 20 years in animal welfare we will be organzing a fund raising dinner on Friday, 3 July to enable Noah's Ark to continue at least another 20 years of its important and good work.
We would like to believe that our vision of a stray free Singapore and Malaysia will be closer to a reality then and our objectives finally reached. So if you too believe in this vision of a more humane society for animals and humans alike, consider supporting our fund raising dinner on 3 July - for our animals will always need your voice and support.
We look forward to seeing you at this dinner - so in anticipation of a large gathering ,we would like to record our thanks in advance to everyone for their continued support. We exist because of your beliefs.
Thank you.
Ms Chew Gek Hiang
President
Noah's Ark CARES
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