ANIMAL PROTECTION ACTIVISTS MEET IN SINGAPORE

SINGAPORE, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- Nearly 400 international animal protection
activists gathered here Saturday to discuss concrete long-term solutions for
ongoing animal protection and cruelty problems in the Asia region.

The activists representing over 200 organisations from 26 countries,
including Malaysia, are participating in the five-day Asia for Animals
Conference (AFA) hosted by Singapore's Acres (Animal Concerns Research and
Education Society.

The conference will cover a wide range of issues including running effective
education outreach programmes, improving the welfare of animals in captivity,
providing optimal veterinary care, effective stray animals management, wiping
out the wildlife trade, running a sustainable rescue centre and campaigning for
change.

Singapore Member of Parliament Seah Kian Peng who in his opening address,
said the world was now beginning to realise the need to preserve and take care
of animals and the importance of their survival to mankind.

He said the European Union had recognised that animals were sentient beings
and had started to include animal welfare in its Free Trade Agreement.

The World Organisation for Animal Health recently integrated animal welfare
into its strategic priorities and the Doha WTO Agreement on Trade also placed
animal welfare firmly on the agenda for future agricultural negotiations, Seah
said.
-- BERNAMA