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  Straits Times Forum Online 13 Sep 05
Animals and pets set free in the wild create problems
 Letter from Vanessa Neranjani Muhundan

Every year just before Vesak Day, animals are released into the wild as a gesture of kindness and compassion by Buddhist devotees. Some are domesticated animals and had been bred as pets. Setting them free is done as repentance for one's sins in a tradition known as fang sheng. The demand encourages the capturing and selling of more animals.

Unfortunately, some Singaporeans practise this supposed act of kindness on a daily basis. Many families release their pets into the wild in the belief that they would lead a better life as a free animal.

They are mistaken.

There are several problems with this practice.

First, these animals have been drained of their natural instincts to survive in the wild. They lack the competitive edge against other animals simply because they never had to compete for food as pets. They often end up starving and dying.

On the other hand, some of these animals, like the red-eared terrapin (Trachemys scripta elegans) and Chinese soft shell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis), are ecologically more competitive than our native turtles and we may end up endangering our own local turtles.

Most of the animals that are released are foreign or non-native species which were brought into the country by pet dealers to be raised domestically. Their original habitat is very different from Singapore's. Many of these foreign species do not adapt to their new surroundings and many end up suffering.

The National Parks Board estimated that about 90 per cent of all released animals die within a day.

About 1,000 pet rabbits are released into the wild every year in Singapore.

Those animals which can adapt to the new environment will have a drastic effect on the natural ecosystem of Singapore and will eventually upset the ecological balance here.

Few people are able to tell if an animal is healthy or not. When an animal is released into the wild, one may not know its health. Native animals in the same habitat will thus face the risk of catching the disease that the foreign animal may be carrying.

In Singapore, it is against the law to release any animal into our public parks, reservoirs, nature reserves and other places.

There has been a decrease in the number of animals released into the wild, but there is still a lack of awareness that such acts are dangerous and unkind to the animals.

Many people still do it because they assume it is an act of kindness. The National Parks Board has taken measures to curb this problem.

However, the problem persists after Vesak Day.

As a science student, I have a high respect for animals and plants in our ecosystem. It is very important that we treasure and look after them.

Vanessa Neranjani Muhundan
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Related articles on Singapore: animal release including pets and animal abuse
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