SINGAPORE’S HOUSING DEVELOPMENT Board were forced to apologise for putting up a sign suggesting that dog owners ‘debark’ disruptive and loud pets.
The HDB Ang Mo Kio branch was acting after feedback in a residential block showed consistent complaints about noisy animals during the night. The notice offered some solutions to help keep the noise down, with one of the options suggesting debarking through surgical means.
The sign was posted by resident Sean Boo on Facebook, Wednesday night, and the complaints came pouring in.
The debarking procedure involves removing a section of a dog’s vocal chord which can reduce the volume of the animal’s bark. The surgery is often a last resort to control noise, but is strongly opposed by many animal welfare groups as cruel and unfair.
Action for Singapore Dogs said in a Facebook post that the recommendations wrongly deem the practice as “ethical and safe”.
This is an extremely cruel and painful procedure of removing the vocal chords which can cause constant physical pain. A dog also barks when it is in a stressed or anxious mode, and not hearing the dog does not mean the dog is in a stable state of mind. That can lead to further behavioural issues such as aggression and separation anxiety.
Animal non-profit Exclusively Mongrels Limited also said they ”strongly condemn debarking, even as a last resort”.
Singapore residents also took to Twitter to vent their disagreement with the solution.
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Facing the backlash, the HDB apologised for the sign, which has since been removed.
We apologise for causing anxiety to dog owners. We agree it should have been handled more sensitively, and the notice has since been taken down.
They said the recommendation was only ever to be considered as a last resort.
“Debarking should only be considered by pet owners as a last resort when all other measures, especially training, are ineffective and only if the dog owner considers it an option.”
