S$21,000 fine given to woman who kept 79 dogs on her landed property

SINGAPORE: A woman who kept an extraordinarily large number of dogs on her landed property in Sembawang was slapped with a S$21,000 fine after she repeatedly ignored warnings from the authorities over the since 2022.

The maximum number of dogs that 50-year-old Julia Nicole Moss, a Singaporean, would have been allowed to have is only three, which is the law for private premises.

In July, a total of 82 charges were brought against her, most of which had to do with Moss’ failure to obtain the correct licences for her miniature poodles and to have them microchipped.

Moss’ troubles with the law began in 2022, when a bank informed the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) about the many dogs in the home where Moss and her husband lived. The property was being repossessed because of a mortgage default.

The authorities first found 65 dogs in July 2022, and told Moss several times not only that her pets would need to be microchipped and rehoused, but also sterilised. Because she did not do so, the number of dogs ballooned.

The authorities said on August 28, 2024, that Moss kept at least 79 dogs at her residence along Wak Hassan Drive. The Director-General of Animal Health and Welfare had issued a direction to Moss on May 29, 2024, to have all the animals she owned microchipped. She did not comply with this direction, telling the authorities that she and her husband would be relocating to Dubai for his work.

Furthermore, Moss did not inform the Director-General of Animal Health and Welfare in January of this year that she would be moving her 79 dogs to another residence on Wak Hassan Drive. The National Parks Board (NParks) had only been able to determine their location after members of the public provided feedback.

When NParks endeavoured to find new homes for the dogs, Moss resisted these efforts, according to a CNA report. At first, she handed over 37 dogs to be rehoused, but did not want to surrender the rest. This caused NParks to apply for a forfeiture order.

When Moss obtained the proper license for three of the dogs, they were returned to her.

On Wednesday, she entered a guilty plea to 28 charges, and an additional 72 charges were considered for her sentencing. /TISG

Read also: Woman loses legal battle to get dogs back from her ex-husband after divorce and ends up owing him S$3,500