Puppymills in Singapore

Many people are unaware that puppy mills exist in Singapore. They can be hidden behind shops or in the open, known as puppy farms. Many can be found at places such as Pasir Ris, Kranji or Lim Chu Kang¹. Despite what these unethical breeders may tell prospective buyers, breeding dogs are more likely than not kept in terrible conditions, forced to produce puppies over and over again². Different puppymills, sometimes taking the form of a puppy farm, have varying degrees of care (or the lack of, as the case may be) for their dogs.

​

Medical care such as hip x-rays, blood tests and eye certification cost money and are conveniently ignored by breeders as they are keen to avoid any expenses to make the most profit from their sales³. This results in animal cruelty and suffering for the poor dogs in these pet farms. Many examples below will detail the illnesses these dogs become plagued with.

While the AVS has a code of animal welfare for animal related businesses, which sets out “minimum standards and best practices”, flouting the code is not an offence. In most instances, an investigation will only be conducted when there has been complaints of a particular business breaching licensing conditions. Hence, many of these businesses continue to thrive without fear of prosecution⁴.

One clear example of this is Top Breed Pet Farm, one exposed as recently as 2017. Then Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) had carried out inspections on this farm from March of 2016. The farm housed more than 100 dogs of a variety of breeds including bulldogs, shih tzus, pomeranians and huskies. Many dogs were found in poor physical condition. AVA merely ordered a vet visit, which showed that the farm dogs suffered from a range of conditions such as open wounds and corneal ulcers. AVA's investigations also revealed that the owner of this pet farm operated a pet shop. Despite clear flouting of the rules, and many dogs found to be in poor condition, no proper action was taken against this farm.

​

It took the deaths of two dogs - a female shih tzu and a male husky - for action to be taken⁵.