Acres makes police report about dead snake at Bukit Timah Plaza; animal abuse suspected

Amelia Teng Straits Times AsiaOne 3 Nov 15;

SINGAPORE - The Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (Acres) made a police report on Monday about a possible case of animal abuse.

It found a dead python along a walkway leading to an upper parking deck at the Bukit Timah Plaza last Wednesday evening, with its head and body crushed, and a cigarette butt in its mouth.

This follows a spate of cat deaths in Yishun in the last two months, with the most recent occuring last Friday morning.

Ms Anbarasi Boopal, director of Acres' Wildlife Rescue Centre, told The Straits Times that the society is trying to get more information on the incident.

The mall's security guards had alerted Acres to the snake, and a team from the society had arrived within 10 minutes, she said.

"We have come across other incidents where snakes are killed because people fear them. They don't know that snakes can be left alone," she added.

"But this incident looks different," she added. "It looks like the snake was hurt and stepped on, as there's trauma to the head.

"Its skin at the rear portion was stuck to the floor and there was a cigarette placed in its mouth."

"It couldn't have been run over by a vehicle because it was at a walkway and not on the driveway," she added.

The snake, which was up to a metre long, was a reticulated python, a species that is commonly found in Singapore. Its carcass is currently with Acres.

Those found guilty of any unauthorised killing of an animal under the Wild Animals and Birds Act face a maximum fine of $1,000 per animal.

Under the Animals and Birds Act, anyone who neglects to supply the animals with food and/or water or subjects them to unnecessary suffering and distress is guilty of animal cruelty.First offenders may be fined up to S$15,000 and/or be jailed for up to 18 months.

Anyone who has information regarding the death of the python can inform the Acres Animal Crime Investigation Unit at acrescrime@gmail.com.