Winnie Yeoh The Star 3 Jun 11;
THEY are supposed to be free when released in the liberation pond.
But the 700-odd resident tortoises at Penang’s Kek Lok Si Temple Liberation Pond appear far from being ‘liberated’, according to the Penang Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
“To put it mildly, they are living in horrendous conditions,” said its honorary secretary Dr G.S. Gill.
He claimed SPCA had received numerous complaints from local and foreign tourists that the tortoises’ living conditions were ‘deplorable.’
“They are living in extremely overcrowded conditions with one clambering over the other and eating the thrown vegetables which rot within the enclosure.
“It produces a stench. This, by itself, is an act of cruelty being inflicted on these creatures,” he said after checking the pond yesterday.
Dr Gill said tourists visiting the pond had expressed deep disappointment at the conditions under which the tortoises were being kept in captivity.
“In as much as there are religious sentiments for the release of tortoises, any right thinking person would not like to subject these lovely creatures of God through such a fate.
“We cannot be silent and seen to be condoning this activity anymore,” he said.
He added that SPCA strongly urged the public to refrain from releasing tortoises into the pond to suffer such a fate in cruelty.
“A similar situation existed at Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling many years ago and we were able to resolve it by talking to the temple authorities and having those tortoises from the well released into river,” he added.
A check at the pond showed that many tortoises were clambering over one another on a slab of cement built in the pond as well as under the bridge.
Scattered leaves of kangkung (water convolvulus), thrown by tourists to feed them, were spotted on the water’s surface while a number of eggs were seen at the bottom of the pond.
Algae had also grown on the shells of some of the tortoises.
Student Tan Kah Yee, 19, from Kajang, said the pond looked ‘uncomfortable’ for the tortoises seen stacking up over one another.
“The water seems dirty and I wonder if they are fed enough food,” she said.
However, Australian Nigel Douglas, 41, who brought his three sons to the pond for the first time, said the tortoises’ living conditions could not be bad as they did not seem to be dying.
“It looks a bit unsightly but it’s surely hard to keep the place clean when you have so many of them.
“Maybe they (the tortoises) like it this way as I can see several bigger ones. They must have been here for a very long time,” he added.
Kangkung seller Loh Kok Boon, 53, who has been looking after the tortoises for over 40 years, claimed he changed the pond’s water once every two days.
“I can’t ensure that the water will be crystal clear. If each of the 700 tortoises was to pang sai (defecate) twice a day, there will be 1,400 pieces of sai (faeces),” he said.
Loh said the water might look murky but it did not stink.
“Not only devotees are releasing tortoises but pet owners who get bored of them would also leave them here,” he added.
Loh explained that the tortoises would gather in groups in certain parts of the pond as they knew tourists would feed them there.
“We will feed the tortoises at night when there are fewer people around,” he said.
Temple trustee Datuk Steven Ooi said they were aware of the overcrowding issue but could not prevent devotees from releasing tortoises into the pond.
“We will release the tortoises into the wild from time to time,” he said, adding that some tortoises would be relocated to a bigger pond which was expected to be ready next year.
Ooi said the new site at the foothill and the existing stream there would form part of the pond to provide a bigger and more natural setting for the reptiles.
For Buddhists, releasing animals is a traditional practice and it is seen as a gesture of compassion and a repentance for one’s sins.
