SINGAPORE : The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) will stop its five-year-old scheme of sterilising stray cats.

The control of the stray cat population is now left to Town Councils.

The AVA said the Town Councils could put cats down if they are a nuisance.

Some 80,000 of them are out on the streets.

Of these, 10,000 have been sterilised, mostly by animal welfare groups, while AVA has sterilised 3,000 of them which were caught by the Town Councils.

But now it is stopping its sterilisation scheme as feedback from Town Councils showed that the scheme was ineffective in reducing the stray population.

So the Town Councils will now have to deal with the strays.

Dr Ngiam Tong Tau, Ceo of AVA, said: "If the animal numbers, the number of cats in that area becomes too many, they will just go and reduce the population."

Town Councils had complained that they have had to clean up after strays who defaecate in common areas, and clear up after feeders who leave food for the strays.

Complaints about strays have also increased.

Dr Ngiam added: "The welfare groups should now concentrate on the existing sterilised cats which the Town Councils have stated that they will not remove them, and make sure these cats do not cause nuisance, do not dirty the environment and the community accepts them."

AVA broke the news of this move to animal welfare groups, whom they say can tender for plots of land set aside for pet boarding facilities.

It hopes the groups can house sterilised cats in these pet shelters.

As long as the cats are found in eating places or there have been complaints that they have been a nuisance, whether they are sterilised cats or not, the town councils will catch them and put them down.

The AVA wants to shift its focus to public education and will ramp up its campaign on responsible pet ownership next year.

The public can call the AVA at 1800-476 1600 to loan a free cat trap or to surrender cats which the AVA will put down. - CNA