ACRES: Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Singapore)/Facebook" width="100%" />
Large quantities of animals were recently released into the wild, as the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) pointed out in a Facebook post on Tuesday (May 9), one day before Vesak Day. If you’re not familiar with the symbolic act, some Buddhist devotees free animals into the wild as a gesture of kindness and liberation. But this practice can be more harmful than helpful.
Apparently, as many as 200 munia birds, eight tonnes of cockles, and one tonne of pomfret fish were released, as well as frogs and crabs, ACRES discovered.
But, as the charity organization explained: “These practices involve the release of animals that can result in thousands of deaths. Apart from compromising the welfare of the surviving animals, the impact to the ecosystem can be highly detrimental while releasing (abandoning) animals purchased as pets is illegal.”
In an attempt to dispel beliefs like ‘liberating animals will set them free’, ACRES stated that those animals are usually caught from the wild and transported in awful conditions, causing some creatures to die from stress.
The findings by ACRES have been turned over to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority for further investigation.
Just two years ago, the National Parks Board reminded the public to refrain from releasing animals into the wild, reasoning that the act could have an adverse impact to the ecological balance. If you’re a first time offender, you may be charged under the Parks and Trees Act, and you could be fined up to $50,000, jailed up to six months, or both.
