Two Nanyang Technological University (NTU) undergraduates, Nurul Dini and Jon Jon, will attempt to cover an estimated 108km around Singapore on their longboards (an adaptation of the skateboard) on Saturday, 3rd April 2010.
The colossal effort has been undertaken by the 2 cat lovers after being moved by the fact that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore culls about 27 cats every 24 hours as a measure of feline population control even though alternative solutions such as Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) are available.
Titling the campaign as ‘Skate Migrate Against Cat Hate’, the specific aim is to raise public awareness as well as funds for two notable cat welfare organisations in Singapore, the Nanyang Technological University Cat Management Network (NTU CMN) and the Cat Welfare Society (CWS), who advocate responsible pet ownership and sustainable long-term management of feline populations.
As these organisations do not receive any funding from the government, they rely on the support from the public for funds and volunteers to carry out their work in providing for the welfare of community cats – which often includes costly medical bills.
When asked what motivated the duo to embark on this inspiring trek, Jon Jon replied, “Dini and I have been active members of NTU Cat Management Network for almost a year now. We are also avid longboarders… what really struck us the most was the fact that for every 24 hours, 27 cats are culled. According to AVA surveys, 96% of respondents in Singapore said that they do not want cats to be culled. While this should be a heartening thing, it isn’t because not enough action has been taken by these 96% to stop the culling. Action taken towards the positive no matter how small the impact, is an action taken nonetheless. We hope to raise awareness of the plight of the cats in Singapore and hopefully funds for these two organizations. It may not be much, but every penny counts.”
Skate Migrate Against Cat Hate will flag off from Jurong Point Shopping Centre at 7.00am and the two longboarders intend to update the supporters of this campaign via video and photo updates throughout the day.
