NEWS

ACRES IN THE NEWS
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938Live
13 August 2009

A place to call home for rescued wildlife

Reptiles and amphibians rescued from illegal wildlife trade will now have a place to call home.

This, as Singapore 's first wildlife rescue centre run by the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society or ACRES began operations today.

Speaking at the launch of the centre, Mr Lim Wee Kiak, Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC points out that Singapore has to put in more effort to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, which is surpassed only by the trafficking of drugs and weapons.

He adds that the number of illegal possession or import of protected wildlife cases here have gone down to 17 in 2008, from the 97 cases in 2004.

But Singapore must not let her guard down says Mr Lim.

"By the fact that we're a transportation hub, all transportation actually goes through Singapore . They can't transport out from a remote island anyway, so they will find means and ways to come through Singapore . And all these trade, they will not be found in your normal aquarium or pet shop, they will do this as a trans-shipment through to another country. "

The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth around US$20 billion a year.

According to Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring network, Singapore is listed alongside Malaysia and Manila as the world's top ten wildlife smuggling hubs.

Mr Louis Ng , Founder and Executive Director of ACRES, says the launch of the centre will not only be able to educate the public on the importance of rescuing wildlife but also help crackdown the illegal trade.

"We do undercovers every year, that sends a very strong message to the traders, if you carry on selling we will catch you one day. Our volunteers that go undercover are armed with hidden cameras that we can use for prosecution."

Currently, the centre's Main Sanctuary Area is incomplete as construction was delayed for about two years and will be delayed by at least another six months, pending court decision on a pollution lawsuit.

The contractor had allegedly dumped woodchips onto this site, which caused the discharge of wastewater.

ACRES is awaiting the decision of the judge on whether the main contractor and its director are liable to ACRES in this regard.

When completed, the main sanctuary will be able to hold up to 400 rescued wildlife.

These includes reptiles, primates and native birds.

nimals like dogs will be handed over to other organisations like the SPCA.

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