NEWS

ACRES IN THE NEWS
____________________________________________________________________

TODAY
14 August 2009

After tears, delays and a lawsuit
Singapore 's first wildlife rescue shelter opens
By Esther Ng

After five long and rocky years, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) finally opened its rescue shelter yesterday, a mission its executive director and founder Louis Ng never expected would drive him to tears.

Funding problems delayed the opening of Singapore 's first dedicated wildlife rescue shelter from April 2007 to October 2007. But a month before this scheduled launch, a foul smell necessitated soil tests - and the hardest blow was finding out, in March 2008, that the animal enclosures were sitting on 1.5 hectares of rotting wood chips, rendering the buildings unstable.

"Yes, I cried," Mr Ng, 30, admitted. "It meant having to demolish the kitchen, primate and turtle sanctuaries, and all the cages which were built-to-order. They were welded to structures and could not be salvaged."

It was a huge blow to the non-profit group which had spent 18 months raising $500,000 to build the 2-hectare centre. It took out a lawsuit against its contractor last year.

Even as it awaits the outcome of the legal action, the Acres Wildlife Rescue Centre is resuming the rescue work it had put on hold for one-and-a-half years while waiting for its premises to be built.

In Mr Ng's words: "We have to stay positive and move on."

Its quarantine centre can house up to 50 animals at any one time.

"We're focusing on just reptiles and amphibians now because they form the bulk of illegal wildlife trade," Mr Ng said.

The public can call its new 24-hour hotline at 9783 7782 to report illegal activity. In Singapore , the number of cases of illegal possession or import of protected wildlife reached a high of 97 cases in 2004, declining to 17 cases last year. As of July this year, there were 14 cases.

Acres will continue to pass on any tip-offs it gets to the authorities for offences to be prosecuted. The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) will send wildlife it confiscates to Acres "if there is a need", said AVA spokesman Goh Shih Yong.

Typically, it sends the animals to the Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park and Underwater World, depending on the species, while some are repatriated to the country of origin while local species may be released into the wild after consultation with the National Parks Board.

What if members of the public try to dump their regular household pets - not wildlife - with the centre? It will not take them in, stressed Mr Ng. "We will hand them over to the appropriate NGOs."

Volunteers can sleep over

Rescue work will not be Acres' main focus. Its two other missions are undercover work and public education; it has worked with 83 schools since 2001.

Now, its Outdoor Conservation Classroom at the new centre will allow students to examine native wildlife which includes plants. They can also catch exhibits on wildlife protection and performances at the Lee Foundation Centre onsite.

There is even a building specially for volunteers - it comes with dining and lounge areas and five bedrooms.

"We want to get the public involved in our work. They can watch TV, have their meals or stay overnight. We want them to feel that they are part of a team, not that we're making use of them," said Mr Ng.

Now we have 18,000 supporters in our database. Is that a sign of progress in Singapore ? Without a doubt it is."

top

.........................................................................................................................................................