New Year's Day & SPCA

I was out on the eve, celebrating with my bf and his friends.

We watched I AM LEGEND, starring Will Smith. Then we went counting down the new year somewhere in Tanjong Pagar, but not being able to see the fireworks, we blasted the 91.3 on the car stereo.

Wat a typical way to say goodbye to the passing year & in welcoming 2008.



Yet, the 1st big thing which I did on New Year's Day was to call the SPCA, reporting the abuse of a harmless rabbit in Woodlands Circle.

Gina has already blogged about it. So click HERE to read it.

In summary:

The rabbit was put in a cage and left OUTSIDE the house. From what I understand, it could NOT stand. And when my brother & his gf put some food in front of the rabbit, it 'leopard crawled' to the food and ate like it had been starving. And according to his gf, the rabbit was still hopping around in the cage when she saw it the previous day.

After hearing this, I felt so much pity for the rabbit.

HOW COULD ANYONE ACTUALLY BREAK THE RABBIT'S LEGS????

My brother got the address of the owner from his gf. And I called SPCA to report this incident. The guy at SPCA told me that he will send someone over to pick it up.

Impt Note: I called SPCA at around 1.45am on 01/01/2008. Yes. They ARE open 24hrs. And they ARE efficient in answering calls involving animal abuse, distress, injury, illness, etc. The number to call is 6287 5355. So DO NOT wait till 'office hours' before calling them for help, as it might already been too late.



I couldn't really sleep well the whole night. And the minute I woke up, I called SPCA again to check up on the rabbit.

This lady called Anna, was very polite and helpful. She tried to find out more information on the poor little harmless rabbit.

However, she told me that the rabbit was NOT abused.

... i know... i was like, 'huh???'...


She told me that the rabbit belonged to someone. And that the owner told SPCA that the rabbit was NOT abused. It was just born with deformed legs.

... wtf, right???...


This Anna from SPCA then told me to get my brother's gf to call her to reconfirm if the rabbit's condition had gotten worse or something. I had told my brother to tell his gf about it. But I don't know what was the outcome. Maybe they were afraid of getting into trouble with the owner or something.



Ok. I wasn't embarrassed becuz I had accidentally reported a misunderstood abuse.

But the problem was... ... ... I was DAMN confused and unconvinced.



Firstly, my brother's gf said tat she saw that the rabbit was able to hop around in its cage just the previous day. So how can the rabbit be lying flat on its stomach now? How come the rabbit showed that it was STARVING when they tried to feed it some food??? I don't believe that my brother's gf was lying about it becuz why would anyone lie about something like that. So it only means that:

(1) She didn't manage to take a closer look at the rabbit the previous day & thought that it was ok. - genuine mistake...

(2) The rabbit suddenly became worse in its handicapped condition. - farked up owner did not take care of it properly...

(3) The rabbit HAD BEEN abused. The owner tried to cover it up by saying that it had deformed legs. - if this is the case, i hope the owner is cursed to eternal hell...



Secondly, if the owner was SO KIND to still take care of the deformed rabbit (despite its handicap), then WHY DID THE OWNER LEAVE THE RABBIT OUTSIDE THE HOUSE???

Aren't they afraid that crazy ppl who walked past their house would torture the innocent rabbit? Even if the probability of crazy ppl is low, but haven't they thought of the ever-changing weather? The rabbit would be cold from strong winds... it could be wet from the rain that splatters into the exposed corridors. And rabbits are very very timid creatures (trust me, i know becuz i have a rabbit too). The rabbit could get scared or shocked constantly with the sudden noises in its surroundings. And ppl who walk past might disturb the rabbit. Children might poke at it. The rabbit is so vulnerable when the owner keeps it outdoors like this!



Lastly, just being CURIOUS. Did the ppl from SPCA actually inspect the rabbit? Did it really have deformed legs? And if it DID HAVE deformed legs, then did they look around its living quarters & surroundings to see if it was suitable?? Should a pet be left outside the house?? Was food & water conveniently placed, so that the rabbit will have no trouble in reaching its food / water??

I mean, for god's sake, if you had nonfunctional limbs, I'm sure you would like to be able to reach your food without leopard-crawling your way across the room, right??? As a human, you have ppl who look after your needs. But this rabbit lives in the corridor! So what if it lives in a tiny cage??? Its BUTT was FACING TOWARDS its FOOD BOWL. So this means that the poor rabbit with DEFORMED LEGS had to somehow twist & turn around 180 degrees to be able to EAT. No wonder it ate like it was STARVING when my brother & his gf put some food in front of its mouth.



To me, it's still cruelty.

The owner could have put the rabbit INSIDE the house.



But still, I guess the impt message to be put across here is that pets are living things too. Irregardless whether they have deformities or not. I know the owner thought that he was being nice in keeping it. But personally, I do not think that keeping a deformed rabbit OUTSIDE the house is appropriate.

And also, I hope that everyone out there is aware that SPCA is 24 hours. Just becuz it's a holiday, or it's late at night... ... doesn't mean that they heck care if animals are sick or being abused.

You might not be sure if the animal is being abused, but as long as you have a doubt about it, I believe it is our responsibility to report it. It is better to be careful, rather than let it happen, then you report. By then, it might already been too late.



You know, this is like one of those Preventing Terrorists Attacks advertisements that you see in MRTs and bus interchanges.

"See something suspicious?

(picture of a lonely bag lying on the seat / picture of rabbit with twisted legs in a cage in an open corridor)

Report it."