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below reply The Straits Times, 8 Jul 05 Care of Ubin's wild boar adequate Letter to The Straits Times, 2 Jul 05 Life's a boar for this Pulau Ubin resident Letter by Susannah Low Xiao Rong (Mdm) 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) The Straits Times, 8 Jul 05 Care of Ubin's wild boar adequate I REFER to the letter, 'Life's a boar for this Pulau Ubin resident' (ST, July 2), by Madam Susannah Low. The Agri-food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) acted on the feedback immediately. AVA's veterinarian visited the premises where the wild boar is kept to check on the boar and interview the owner. Our investigations show that the boar is in satisfactory health and is kept under adequate living conditions. The boar's food and water requirements were met. Our veterinarian found that the boar was fed with food comprising commercial feeds, corn, fruit like apple, pear and coconut, and vegetables. In addition, it is given a large bucket of water twice a day. The owner, who has kept the boar since it was a piglet, has also given us the assurance that he will continue to look after it. We would like to thank Madam Low for her feedback and assure her once again that the boar's welfare has not been compromised. Goh Shih Yong Assistant Director Corporate Communications for Chief Executive Officer Agri-food & Veterinary Authority Ministry of National Development links Discuss this issue on the focus ubin forum Related articles about Pulau Ubin |
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