Wild animals are dangerous

Straits Times 5 Mar 10;

I REFER to Sunday's report, 'Underwater World, other animal attractions safe'.

Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) is concerned that Underwater World Singapore and Wildlife Reserves Singapore are not acknowledging the potential risks involved with the close contact between captive wild animals and visitors at their facilities, and feels the public should be aware of the real dangers of coming into close contact with captive wild animals.

Acres would like to highlight the fact that, no matter how well trained the staff are at facilities housing wild animals, and no matter how familiar the animals are with performing and how accustomed they are to being around humans, they still remain wild animals with natural instincts, and the truth is they can attack at any time.

The use of large animals, such as elephants, in shows or for rides, where they come into close contact with the public, poses particular risks to public safety. There are countless accounts of captive elephants who have attacked either members of the public or their trainers, even though used in shows or for elephant rides for many years.

The example cited of Chawang, the elephant at the Singapore Zoo that attacked and hospitalised his keeper who had taken care of him for 18 years, highlights the fact that a wild animal, no matter how long it has been in captivity or interacted with humans, can never be considered 'safe'.

These attacks can happen at even the most reputable zoos, with stringent safety protocols in place. The simple fact is, when a large animal such as an elephant is about to attack or go out of control, there is nothing we can do to stop it, and those near the animal will be defenceless.

There is much evidence that animals such as whales, dolphins and elephants may suffer from the constraints of captivity, and their likely frustration caused by their confinement may contribute to these shows of aggression towards humans.

In 2002, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority imposed a ban on wild animals performing in travelling circuses, and part of the reason was to ensure public safety.

We hope the captive animal establishments will follow this example, and end all public contact sessions with wild animals, both for safety reasons and to reduce the stress likely to be experienced by the animals during such sessions in which they have no choice to remove themselves from the situation.

Amy Corrigan (Ms)
Director of Education
Acres (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society)

Safety and care come first at wildlife parks
Straits Times 8 Mar 10;

I REFER to last Friday's Forum Online letter, 'Wild animals are dangerous' by Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres).

The Singapore Zoo would like to reassure the public that safety at our park, both of humans and animals, is of prime importance and concern to us all. In line with our operating philosophy to enhance the quality of life of all the animals under our care, we consistently upgrade and create better habitats that are akin to our animals' natural environment.

Our safety policy and procedures are in line with or exceed the international quality standards drawn up by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. These procedures are strictly enforced by the zoology and animal presentation teams across all parks and in dealing with all animals.

The first line of safety precautions is the proximity to our animals. All our animal enclosures are designed within the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums' safety standards.

The Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and Jurong BirdPark conduct full-scale emergency drills for animal-related incidents twice a year. This ensures that all our staff are familiar with and clearly aware of their roles and responsibilities during emergencies.

These drills are enacted with varying scenarios, where response time is also measured - for example, quick recapture of the 'escaped animal'. Indeed, the swiftness with which previous isolated incidents were managed over the past 10 years is testament to our sound and efficient emergency protocol procedures.

Lastly, all our zookeepers working with potentially dangerous animals are required to undergo an annual review of current safety procedures and correct practices to keep abreast of the latest developments when working with these animals.

In addition, the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari appointed a full-time enrichment officer five years ago to provide behavioural enrichment for our animals. Environmental enrichment is the process where a captive wildlife's environment is enhanced by adding elements which provide the animal with opportunities for problem-solving, encourages the display of natural behaviour and reduces the occurrence of stereotypical behaviour. This focused approach continues to yield immense beneficial value for our animals.

For example, the Singapore Zoo recently highlighted operant conditioning and training of the white tigers, to further elaborate how such training allows keepers and vets to work better with the animals in a non-stressful situation, by obtaining desired behaviour from animals under their care.

All animals involved in the parks' presentations are trained on the principle of positive reinforcement, where rewards are given for particular positive response and behaviour. Animals that are not receptive to such operant conditioning are not used in our presentations and activities.

We hope this will assure Acres and all visitors that the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and Jurong BirdPark are safe for visitors, our staff and our animals.

Biswajit Guha
Assistant Director, Zoology
Singapore Zoo

Zoo did not address most concerns
Straits Times Forum 13 Mar 10;

I REFER to the letter, "Safety and care come first at wildlife parks", on Monday.

It is encouraging to hear that the Singapore Zoo adheres to the standards drawn up by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (Waza).

The zoo, however, did not address most of the concerns raised by the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) with regard to contact sessions with wild animals.

How does the zoo ensure that members of the public are not in danger from contact with the wild animals, which are unpredictable and can attack at any time, regardless of how well-trained the zookeeper is?

The zoo cannot deny that incidents have happened and have resulted in injuries.

In addition, despite the animal enclosures being designed to meet the Waza safety standards, there have been cases of animals escaping from their enclosures in the past.

Lastly, the zoo needs to meet all the standards drawn up by Waza and not just some of them. Section 2 of the Waza Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare states that "where 'wild' animals are used in presentations, these presentations must focus on natural behaviour and not demean or trivialise the animal in any way". The circus-style elephant show at the Singapore Zoo clearly does not meet this standard.

James Chua