Comparison of animal welfare in 2 countries

So I visited the RSPCA today.

It was far much better than the SPCA in Singapore, just as I had expected. The version in singapore is crap, as agreed by most of the vet students I know. But why hasn't anybody done anything about it? Why can we only complain shitloads about how the SPCA in Singapore is way too small with a lousy administration unit? It doesn't seem like a situation that can be improved on. The fact that there are land constraints mean that SPCA probably isn't going to be able to expand the number of animals taken in. The last time I visited, there were less than 10 spots for dogs, and they looked miserable. According to Val, the dogs were fed a pathetic amount of food too, and they ate like there's no tomorrow. Ironically, this is true, since most of the dogs there are put down soon after. Seriously. Who would want to adopt a dog from such a poor environment? There is no indication to anyone interested in adopting a pet that these dogs are healthy, friendly and playful - assuming these are the usual qualities that people look for in a dog. Unlike here in Perth... there are rugs and toys in the kennels, and they are fed good quality dog food. Anyone walking by will be able to see dogs playing with their toys, and one's heart would melt when the dog walks up to the barrier with a ball in its mouth, wags its tail, and then drops the ball while looking at you with anticipation. Here, you can bring the dogs out for a short walk while you access their suitability for you as a pet. The cats here are also immaculately groomed and you can't help but wonder why they are abandoned by their owners. They do not look anything like the stray cats you tend to find in Singapore at all.

General idea is, Singaporeans need to buy less from pet shops and adopt more from animal shelters. But to achieve that, there has to be a shift in the mentality of Singaporeans who think that a 'bought' and brand new animal is better than an 'abandoned' one. Frankly in my opinion, if you're an irresponsible pet owner, no matter how good a pet is in term of its genes, it's still going to turn out misbehaved and unmanageable, and this increases the number of pets abandoned and thus continues the vicious cycle. Singaporeans need to be educated more in this aspect, and more publicity for the animal shelters ought to be carried out. I cannot think of any way to increase the number of animal lovers in Singapore though. More educational talks in primary and secondary schools might be able to target young minds. But the resistance of the older generation might prove to be a barrier to having what they deem as "worthless" animals around the house.

Unfortunately, nice as these ideas sound, there already are so many areas that needs to be improved... so when would animal welfare ever become an issue important enough to be noted by the general public?