DOG LICENCES

DOG LICENCES

40.

Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for National Development in view of the new guidelines on dog licensing (a) how many applications for registration of pet dogs have been received; (b) how many licences have since been issued; (c) what is the average time for a dog licence to be issued from the date of application; and (d) what is the processing time for the issuance of new licences.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, changes to the Animals & Birds (Dog Licensing and Control) Rules were announced in early August last year, and brought into force the following month, on 1st September 2007. Among the changes, the maximum penalty for keeping an unlicensed dog went up substantially from $500 to $5,000.

This higher maximum penalty has produced its desired outcome. Many dog owners came forward to apply for the required dog licence. They were given a grace period of up to the end of 2007 to do so. Between August and December, more than 16,500 applications for new dog licences were received, about five and a half times higher than normal.

AVA had increased the capacity of the system in anticipation of a higher number of applications, but the surge was higher than anticipated and a temporary backlog resulted. Exacerbating the problem, 60% of the applications received during this period were incomplete, as some existing dog owners did not provide the required details of their dogs or the supporting documents. This lengthened the processing time.

AVA deployed more staff to deal with the backlog in applications and has since cleared it. By December 2007, the processing of counter, online and mail applications for dog licences is back to normal. Counter applications are processed on the spot and the licence issued within 10 minutes, although the waiting time would depend on the crowd. Properly completed online and mail applications are processed within a day of receipt and the licence issued within three days.