Straits Times Forum, July 2, 2005
Life's a boar for this Pulau Ubin resident
ON JUNE 25 I spent a day on Pulau Ubin with a group of friends. We had a fantastic time until we saw the one and only wild boar on the island.
Compared to the pampered and healthy animals in the Singapore Zoo, the boar was like an abandoned old person.
The owner, who was smoking and looking very impatiently at all the visitors, said in Hokkien: 'I really don't know what to do with this animal. The Government also doesn't want him. Worse still, the Government doesn't allow me to collect money when tourists come to look at him. Now I have no money to buy food for him. But even if I had, I don't think I'd let him eat anything because his faeces are so smelly that I can't tolerate it anymore. I think I will let him starve to death. Or I will just throw a few coconuts to him.'
From what I overheard, it seems that the owner had previously collected money from visitors who had photographs taken with the wild boar until the Government put a stop to it.
I took a few photographs of the poor boar and walked away with a very heavy heart, thinking that even putting him to sleep would be kinder than letting him starve to death.
I hope the authorities can do something soon before the poor boar dies of starvation.
Susannah Low Xiao Rong (Mdm)
Mr Wang Zhen would like to point out that keeping wild animals or birds without a licence is an offence under Section 5(1) of the Wild Animals & Birds Act. Please be kind to your fellow living creatures.
"I still try to think positively. I'm inspired by Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and Viktor Frankl. Oh, and Chia Thye Poh, of course!"
8 comments:
I used to keep an unusual animal, until the AVA arrived one fateful morning and dragged him away kicking and screaming. Throughout my interrogation the AVA officer was giving me a smug look. I felt like a vegetable, a bountiful harvest; and him without a care about the future of those animals.
I visited the zoo recently to visit my old friend - his lips were covered with open sores, and his spines were broken in several areas, and he was missing a claw; there was blood at a stump where there should have been a curve. He actually recognised me and came towards me, but the CCTV above my head prevented me from doing more.
Cute, aren't they? The law would have its way, as usual, but that incident reminded me of how it may not always be for a greater good - and "good" being relative.
What was it? A porcupine?
I actually wanted to keep a small goat or a duck, but just found last week that the AVA only allows a few kinds of pets. I eat killed ducks, why can't I keep a live one? darn...
“Please be kind to your fellow living creatures.”
That does not include cockroaches I hope. No way!
nope, it was an iguana, but thanks for pointing out that I made it sound like a porcupine.:)
Jeff: Singapore has a rather pathetic pet industry. you must have found out to your horror after visitng the AVA site that in Sg, you're not allowed to keep anything other than a cat, dog, bird, a few species of rodents, or a terrapin. I might be wrong and there could be one or two more, but that's about all in the list.
Mr.Wang, thanks for allowing me the space to rant on your blog. Won't do it too often I promise!
Sorry to hear about your iguana. Although personally I must say that I don't find lizards very lovable.
I rather prefer cats ...
You could keep a Rajaratnam. (it's a pet dog, stupid)
Notice thre instances of Capital G syndrome in the letter.
"the Government also doesn't want"
"the Government put a stop to it"
"the Government doesn't allow"
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