Woman fined for abandoning 4 cats, fearing they could spread COVID-19
Two of the abandoned cats. (Photo: CNA reader)
SINGAPORE: Fearing that her four cats could spread COVID-19 to her family, a woman abandoned the animals at the letterboxes of a block in Marsiling.
Zariyah, 45, was fined S$4,000 on Wednesday (Jan 6) and banned from owning pets for six months for two counts of intentionally abandoning an animal under the Animals and Birds Act.
Two similar charges were considered in sentencing.
The court heard that Zariyah had kept the cats in her home, but decided to abandon them due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as she thought her family would get infected with the coronavirus through the felines.
At about 9pm on Mar 28 last year, a passer-by saw Zariyah releasing four cats from a cage at the letterbox area at Block 31, Marsiling Drive.
The cats were meowing loudly and attracted the attention of the public, who asked her why she was releasing the cats.
Zariyah replied that she could not take care of them and left. Two of the cats were adopted by passers-by, while the other two were taken in by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
A complaint was made to the National Parks Board, and Zariyah admitted abandoning the animals. She said nothing in mitigation on Wednesday.
The prosecutor asked for a S$4,000 fine and six months' disqualification from keeping any pet.
The judge questioned Zariyah if she had any other pets currently, as he would give her time to rehome them if so. She said she did not.
For each charge of abandoning an animal, she could have been fined up to S$10,000, jailed up to a year and banned from keeping pets for up to one year.
A World Health Organization epidemiologist said in April last year that pets are not believed to play a role in transmission to humans, but may be able to get the infection from their owners.
