Be compassionate to animals too: tribute to Acres

Letter from Nuraishah Athly (Miss) Straits Times Forum 19 Jun 08;

I REFER to the article, 'Not mad, just Acres of love for wild animals' (June 9). It's always inspiring to read articles on people who have a selfless devotion in helping others.

Mr Louis Ng and his Acres team have come a long way in protecting wildlife in Singapore and they truly deserve more than a round of applause. Having put in tremendous amount of time, energy and effort, Acres has made significantly remarkable accomplishments and increased public awareness on the importance of protecting wildlife.

Mr Ng is also a source of inspiration. When he was told that he was merely a small fry and will never be able to change big organisations, instead of being demoralised, it only fuelled his perseverance in protecting wildlife and motivated him to strive for his noble dreams. Such positive exemplary attitude should inspire Singapore's youth to persevere when pursuing their dreams in the face of global challenges. I also think that Mr Ng is a positive role model for children. I sincerely hope that the wildlife rescue centre can be up and running soon. So many animals will benefit from its protection and medical services.

Acres and many other organisations have done so much for the betterment of animal welfare in Singapore. However, others need to play their part too. Despite our society's tremendous progress in terms of finance, technology, biomedical and various other areas, sadly we are still behind in terms of animal welfare. For example, stray cats and dogs are still being rounded up and put to sleep by the authorities, not to mention the number of animals that suffer from various forms of abuse by the public everyday. Traditional Chinese medical halls are still selling illegal products from animals and shark's fins that are generally acquired in a cruel way are still considered a delicacy.

Moreover, people are still illegally trading wildlife and endangered species which are kept in containers like ornaments when these animals are breathing creatures with a right to live. The great Mahatma Gandhi once said that a society can be judged from the way it treats animals. So what do our society's treatment of animals speak about us? Is Singapore really that far from being a gracious society? You don't have to be an 'animal lover' to be kind to other species. Surely the human capacity for compassion is enough to be extended to all beings.