ACRES Wildlife rescue centre opens

Acres' facility to take in reptiles and amphibians rescued from smugglers and illegal owners
Grace Chua, Straits Times 14 Aug 09;

AFTER a rocky five-year journey, the first dedicated wildlife rescue centre here opened its doors yesterday.

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) Wildlife Rescue Centre will take in reptiles and amphibians rescued from smugglers and owners who keep them illegally.

Reptiles like star tortoises and bearded dragon lizards, and Asian arowana fish, make up the bulk of illegal shipments confiscated here each year. Most confiscated animals are either repatriated or sent to zoos, the Jurong BirdPark or other facilities.

The rescue centre will be another outlet 'if there is a need', the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said. Native species taken to the centre will be rehabilitated and released back into the wild.

'Having a rescue centre is a sign that there's a problem, but it's also a sign that society wants to solve the problem,' said Acres' 30-year-old founder and executive director Louis Ng.

The idea for the rescue centre was sparked in 2004, after Mr Ng freed a vervet monkey from a cage at a factory here. The monkey, dubbed 'Blue', was temporarily cared for at the Singapore Zoo before being sent to a wildlife sanctuary in its native Africa. This experience convinced Mr Ng, who has a master's in primate conservation, of the need for such a wildlife rescue facility.

Acres' 2ha site off Choa Chu Kang was originally slated to open in 2007, but construction on the project stalled due to lack of funds.

The non-profit group also faced problems allegedly caused by its building contractor after woodchips, used to level a 100m stretch of ground, rotted and contaminated the area.

A civil suit against A.N.A Contractor and its director was heard in May, and judgment is pending.

The facility's administrative office, education centre and staff living quarters opened last September, and the rescue area was partially opened yesterday. It is able to house up to 50 animals at the moment in 3m by 3m by 3m cages, with veterinarians on hand to care for the sick.

After judgment is passed on the suit, construction will begin on open-air enclosures. When complete, the centre will house up to 400 creatures.

But financial worries remain.

The centre has a monthly operating budget of $20,000, including for animal care, salaries and land rental, and the organisation has just six months' funding at present, said Mr Ng, who is always in search of committed volunteers to help out.

Besides the rescue operations, Acres also carries out education and outreach programmes to discourage people from buying illegal exotic pets.

Singapore is a wildlife smuggling hub because of its transport networks and proximity to sources of animals, according to wildlife trade watchdog Traffic. In 2007, there were 20 cases of illegal animal trading or possession, and the figure rose to 22 last year. This year to date, there have been 14 such cases.

Singapore is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), and has strict penalties for smuggling protected wildlife: a maximum fine of $50,000 per Cites species, up to $500,000, and/or a jail term of up to two years.

Local charity launches Singapore's first dedicated wildlife rescue centre
Gladys Ow, Channel NewsAsia 13 Aug 09;

SINGAPORE : More efforts are being made to tackle the illegal wildlife trade in Singapore, which is surpassed only by the trafficking of drugs and weapons.

A new shelter aims to rescue distressed animals and return them to their native homes.

"Blue", a Vervet monkey, is the inspiration for setting up Singapore's first dedicated wildlife rescue centre.

Six years ago, Blue was kept illegally as a pet at a house. But thanks to the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), Blue became Singapore's first-ever primate to be repatriated home to Zambia.

ACRES hopes Blue's story is only the beginning of more successful rescue efforts.

More than 9,000 animals were seized in the last three years.

At ACRES' newly-launched Wildlife Rescue Centre at Chua Chu Kang, protected species found will be nursed back to health, before being returned to their native environment.

However, it is not just about tackling the illegal wildlife trade. ACRES also wants to educate the public on protecting animals and the environment.

"Penny" has a deformed hind leg. Penny would have been put down by the puppy farm she was brought from if ACRES had not rescued her and cared for her.

Penny is now the centre's mascot for education, which ACRES believes is key to ending animal cruelty and illegal wildlife trade.

The charity has worked closely with schools and community groups since 2001. ACRES' education programmes, reaching over 100,000 children and adults every year, encourage compassion and responsible behaviour. It has worked with 83 schools since 2001.

Louis Ng, executive director of ACRES said: "Most importantly, what we want to do at the ACRES Wildlife Rescue Centre is to create awareness, which is why the first block you see at the entrance is the Lee Foundation Education Centre.

"It is not just about rescuing the animals; it's really about creating awareness, getting the public involved, getting them interested about this issue. Now we have 18,000 supporters in our database. Is that a sign of progress in Singapore? Without a doubt it is."

Progress did not come easy for ACRES. The building of the centre's main sanctuary area has been delayed because of a pending court decision on a pollution lawsuit.

It has been delayed for about two years and will be delayed by at least another six months. Its contractor had allegedly dumped woodchips onto the site, which caused the discharge of wastewater into a channel linked to the Kranji reservoir.

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 centre can hold up to 400 rescued wildlife, including reptiles, primates and native birds. Pets like dogs will be handed over to other organisations like the SPCA. - CNA /ls

After tears, delays and a lawsuit ...
Singapore's first wildlife rescue shelter opens
Esther Ng, Today Online 14 Aug 09;

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."