NEWS
ACRES IN THE NEWS
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Today
4-5 March 2006
Laws in murky waters?
Odd to move smaller sharks but not bigger one
Letter from Dawn Lee
I am glad that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has asked the Parc Palais condominium to remove the black tip reef sharks from a tank.
But I am puzzled as to why AVA is not removing the nurse shark as well.
Nurse sharks can grow to four times larger than the black tip reef sharks. The nurse shark is currently 2m long, twice the length of a full-grown black tip reef shark.
If the tank is too small for the black tip reef sharks, surely it is also too small for the nurse shark.
Furthermore, the Wild Animals and Birds Act states that the import, export and keeping of wildlife without a licence, except for the six species of bird listed in the Schedule, is prohibited.
Sharks do not appear in the Schedule, and a reasonable interpretation, as it seems to me, is that is illegal to keep sharks without a licence.
I am also puzzled as to why AVA has now said that it may be possible to keep snakes as pets when AVA's website has said that imported wild animals such as snakes cannot be kept as pets.
Can AVA clarify?
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Prohibitions should apply to buyers, farms
Letter from Goh Boon Choo
I refer to the article “AVA says OK to sharks as pets but animal activists concerned”, and AVA's letter “Parc Palais condo's sharks are not dangerous” (March 2).
AVA “explained that sharks are not allowed to be sold in pet shops as they may not have the space, but sharks can be sold in fish farms, which have more space to house larger tanks”.
Mr Goh Shih Yong of AVA also stated in his letter that “fishes and birds, including those that come from the wild, do not require any licence to be kept as pets”.
However, AVA prohibits the sale of sharks in pet shops. According to the licence conditions under the Animals and Birds (Pet Shop and Exhibition) Rules 2004: “The following fish are not permitted: Fish that have a large territorial range in their natural habitat, e.g. sharks, rays.”
Do fish farms come under the purview of these rules?
Since AVA recognises the “Large territorial range in their natural habitat”, how does it reconcile this with its decision to let fish farms sell sharks without restricting who can buy them?
Mr Goh also stated that in evaluating the suitability of wild animals “to be imported in commercial numbers for the pet trade”, AVA would “consider factors such as the animals' health and welfare, environmental impact, public safety, and whether they are endangered species”.
Given the situation of sharks in the wild, unregulated private ownership of sharks in Singapore will potentially contribute to the decline of wild shark populations.
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