PUB working to identify angler who was allegedly baiting otters

ETHAN GUO Today Online 22 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE — PUB is working to identify the angler who was allegedly baiting a group of otters with a fishing line hook at the stretch of Kallang River near Toa Payoh Lorong 8 on Tuesday (Oct 20).

When contacted, the PUB said it had received feedback on a video showing an otter hooked by a fishing line at the location, and was “dismayed” at the incident.

Noting that fishing is currently not allowed at waterways, PUB told TODAY that it is currently investigating the incident, and welcomed any information from the public that can help it identify the angler. Under the Public Utilities (Reservoirs, Catchment Areas and Waterways) Regulations, those caught fishing at no-fishing areas may be fined up to S$3,000.

A video, which has been shared on social media, showed a man appearing to deliberately lure a group of five otters with his fishing line, while bystanders watched. One of the pups squeaked in distress after it got caught by the fishing hook. The injured otter was later seen to be limping. A follow-up video posted today showed that the pup appeared to have recovered, with the fishing line fallen off.

The videos were captured and posted online by someone who goes by the moniker Fast Snail. Fast Snail also wrote on Facebook that he had also reported the incident to the National Parks Board (NParks), PUB and the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES).

“Managed to find the Bishan-AMK Otter family this morning. The fishing line is off and no visible hook on the otter pup. The pup is no longer limping. Hopefully, there is no fishing hook under its fur. If there’s one, and it rusts. It will be a big problem,” wrote Fast Snail.

ACRES Deputy Chief Executive Anbarasi Boopal, 32, expressed her gratitude for the prompt action by the member of the public in reporting the incident. Ms Anbarasi said ACRES is urging the relevant authorities to take action against the individual involved as his actions were “definitely cruel”.

The animal welfare group also sought more information on the identity of the angler on Facebook, and said it was in touch with the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore and PUB.


Photo of the angler shared on Facebook by ACRES.

No attempt will be made to treat the otter since it does not seem to be in further distress. "We have verified that the fishing line is no longer on the otter and there is no need to rescue the otter at this point. We will continue to monitor the situation", said ACRES.

Moving forward, Ms Anbarasi suggested that Singaporeans try to leave the otters alone, even as they encroach on our urban spaces. “They are curious animals and they may be curious about their environment and their habitat. We advise people not to approach or try to feed them. Do not encourage any wild animals to get close.”

NParks provided the same advice, listing the Do’s and Don’ts when encountering the otters such as keeping one’s distance to avoid frightening them.

Earlier on Tuesday, a group of otters, suspected to be the same five involved in the Kallang River incident, roamed around St Andrew’s Junior College. The incident has sparked widespread amusement online.

ACRES looking for man who hurt otter with fishing hook
The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society has verified the fishing line is no longer on the otter and that the creature does not need rescuing at this point.
Channel NewsAsia 22 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE: The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) of Singapore is looking for a man who was recently caught on video "trying to bait an otter with a fishing hook".

In a Facebook post on Thursday (Oct 22), ACRES said it was "very disturbed" by the footage and thanked members of the public, including the person filming, for reporting the incident. It also said that it is in touch with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore and PUB.

The two-minute video, which was uploaded to YouTube by user Fast Snail on Tuesday, shows a family of otters at Kallang River and what happened when one of the pups got caught on the hook of a fisherman. It could be heard squealing in distress and was reportedly limping after.

However Fast Snail posted an update on Thursday morning, saying that the otter pup seemed to be fine now.

"The fishing line is off and (there is) no visible hook on the otter pup. The pup is no longer limping. Hopefully, there is no fishing hook under its fur. If there's one and it rusts, it will be a big problem," he wrote.


ACRES said it has verified that the fishing line is no longer on the otter and there is no need to rescue the otter at this point.

It is calling on those who can identify the fisherman to submit information via its email address, info@acres.org.sg, so "justice is served".

- CNA/hs

Otter 'hurt' by angler's hook
The New Paper AsiaOne 23 Oct 15;

A VIDEO showing what seems to be an otter hurt after being caught on an angler's hook has gone viral, with angry netizens calling for action to be taken.

The 1min 40sec clip, uploaded to YouTube on Tuesday, shows a man who appears to lower his fishing line into Kallang River near Lorong 8 Toa Payoh.

About five otters could be seen swimming in the river, with several men looking on.

Near the 50sec mark, one of the otters appears to get snagged on the hook. It can be seen squealing and thrashing about before swimming away with the others, with the hook and line in tow.

Speaking to My Paper yesterday, the video's uploader Nick Soo, 34, said that he witnessed the incident on Tuesday evening.

Based on what he observed, the otter was caught on either a hind leg or the tail, he said.

Another video he uploaded on the same day showed the otter limping, but a third video taken yesterday showed that the otter has since managed to break free of the line.

"I would appreciate if action can be taken against this man and more patrols (put in place) to prevent such incidents from happening again," said the engineer.

Echoing his sentiments were several netizens who were outraged by the clip, according to Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News yesterday.

Said one commenter, Elaine Tan: "This makes me so angry! Leave them alone!"

Another commenter, Lin LiYun, said that the incident was "extremely cruel".

Anbarasi Boopal, deputy chief executive at animal welfare group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), said the group had received calls from at least three people over the incident.

"All wildlife are protected and cannot be captured," she said. "To our knowledge, this is the first time such an incident (involving otters) has occurred and it is quite shocking. But we are very encouraged by the role played by members of the public."

Ms Anbarasi added that Acres would monitor the situation and continue to work with the public on the case.

A spokesman for national water agency PUB said that fishing is not allowed at waterways.

Under the Public Utilities (Reservoirs, Catchment Areas and Waterways) Regulations, those caught fishing at no-fishing areas may be fined up to $3,000.

PUB is investigating the incident and working to identify the angler in the video. myp@sph.com.sg

If you have information on the incident, contact PUB at 1800-284-6600.


Angler who was allegedly baiting otters identified: ACRES
ETHAN GUO Today Online 22 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE — The man who was allegedly trying to bait otters with a fishing hook at Kallang River has been identified, said the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES).

The man has also come forward to the police and is assisting in the investigation, said the animal welfare group on its Facebook page on Friday night (Oct 23)

On Thursday, PUB and ACRES said they were trying to identify the angler who was allegedly baiting a group of otters with a fishing hook at the stretch of Kallang River near Toa Payoh Lorong 8 on Tuesday (Oct 20).

When contacted, the PUB said it had received feedback on a video showing an otter hooked by a fishing line at the location, and was “dismayed” at the incident.

Noting that fishing is currently not allowed at waterways, PUB told TODAY that it is currently investigating the incident, and welcomed any information from the public that can help it identify the angler. Under the Public Utilities (Reservoirs, Catchment Areas and Waterways) Regulations, those caught fishing at no-fishing areas may be fined up to S$3,000.

A video, which has been shared on social media, showed a man appearing to deliberately lure a group of five otters with his fishing line, while bystanders watched. One of the pups squeaked in distress after it got caught by the fishing hook. The injured otter was later seen to be limping. A follow-up video posted showed that the pup appeared to have recovered, with the fishing line fallen off.

The videos were captured and posted online by someone who goes by the moniker Fast Snail. Fast Snail also wrote on Facebook that he had also reported the incident to the National Parks Board (NParks), PUB and the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES).

“Managed to find the Bishan-AMK Otter family this morning (Oct 22). The fishing line is off and no visible hook on the otter pup. The pup is no longer limping. Hopefully, there is no fishing hook under its fur. If there’s one, and it rusts. It will be a big problem,” wrote Fast Snail.

ACRES Deputy Chief Executive Anbarasi Boopal, 32, expressed her gratitude for the prompt action by the member of the public in reporting the incident. Ms Anbarasi said ACRES is urging the relevant authorities to take action against the individual involved as his actions were “definitely cruel”.

The animal welfare group, which sought more information on the identity of the angler on Facebook, said it was in touch with the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore and PUB.

No attempt will be made to treat the otter since it does not seem to be in further distress. "We have verified that the fishing line is no longer on the otter and there is no need to rescue the otter at this point. We will continue to monitor the situation", said ACRES.

Moving forward, Ms Anbarasi suggested that Singaporeans try to leave the otters alone, even as they encroach on our urban spaces. “They are curious animals and they may be curious about their environment and their habitat. We advise people not to approach or try to feed them. Do not encourage any wild animals to get close.”

NParks provided the same advice, listing the Do’s and Don’ts when encountering the otters such as keeping one’s distance to avoid frightening them.

Earlier on Tuesday, a group of otters, suspected to be the same five involved in the Kallang River incident, roamed around St Andrew’s Junior College. The incident has sparked widespread amusement online.

Alleged otter baiting: Authorities looking into possible case of animal cruelty
WONG PEI TING Today Online 24 Oct 15;

SINGAPORE — The man who allegedly tried to bait otters with a fishing hook at the Kallang River did not commit a criminal offence but authorities are trying to ascertain if he had committed any other offences, including animal cruelty, TODAY understands.

The police is currently assisting national water agency PUB and the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) in their investigations.

In a bid to explain himself, the angler, who appeared to have fished illegally, yesterday (Oct 23) came forward to the police voluntarily after seeing a viral video of himself circulating on social media.

The YouTube video posted earlier this week by someone with the moniker Fast Snail shows a man seemingly luring a group of five otters with his fishing line at the stretch of Kallang River near Toa Payoh Lorong 8, while bystanders watched. In the video, one of the pups squeaked in distress after it got caught by the fishing hook. The injured otter was later seen to be limping.

PUB and the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES) had sought more information on the identity of the man on Thursday, with the latter posting a photo of the man on Facebook.

Founder of the animal welfare group Louis Ng said the man identified himself to the police within a day.

“Within 24 hours, he went forward to say that he was the man in the viral video. That’s something positive on his part,” Mr Ng told TODAY. “This incident turned out to be good because one person did something wrong and a whole lot of Singaporeans voiced out that they don’t condone the act.”

As of 6pm, the video of the angler has garnered close to 73,000 views on YouTube, while ACRES’ Facebook post had garnered more than 1,800 shares.

Those caught fishing at no-fishing areas — waterways included — may be fined up to S$3,000.

A follow-up video by Fast Snail on the otters showed that the fishing line on the pup had fallen off, and it appeared to have recovered.