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  Today Online 13 Mar 06
Clean up the Act, AVA: More clarifications needed to address shark's captive space

Today Online 4 Mar 06
Laws in murky waters?
Odd to move smaller sharks but not bigger one
Prohibitions should apply to buyers, farms

Today Online 2 Mar 06
Parc Palais condo's sharks are not dangerous: AVA
Reply from AVA

Today Online 2 Mar 06
AVA says OK to sharks as pets but animal activists concerned
Vinita Ramani

Today Online 25 Feb 06
Wild animals aren't pets Why no action, AVA? Illegal pet purchase?
Letter from Aarti Srivastava
Letter from Teo Li Lian

Today Online 24 Feb 06
Were wildlife laws amended?
Letter from Louis Ng
President and Executive Director
Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres)

Today Online 23 Feb 06
OK to keep pet shark without a licence?
Vinita Ramani vinita@newstoday.com.sg

THIS "pet" has been the pride of Parc Palais condominium on Hume Avenue for five years, but an issue has suddenly arisen over whether the residents can keep it.

In a tank alongside the condo's swimming pool is not one of your run-of-the-mill fish, but a 1.7m-long sand-coloured nurse shark. And keeping it company are two black-tip reef sharks, which can grow up to 1m in length.

It may have been seen as an exotic touch when the estate's management decided to purchase the nurse shark, but it has since become a point of concern for the management council and residents. Nurse sharks can grow up to 4m long.

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) visited the premises yesterday and the management corporation said it was told it did not have to have a permit to own the shark.

Even so, resident Ng Yin Tong said: "A few years ago, the management gave us a flyer to find out if we thought it was okay for them to give the shark to Sentosa's Underwater World. But nothing happened after that." According to Underwater World's assistant curator Wah Yap Hon, the aquarium was "willing to take the chance to try to save the shark, because we could see the tank was too small for it. But we never heard from Parc Palais to fix a date for the transfer".

In the meantime, the caretaker of Underwater World comes in daily to feed the shark. "There's only a small hole from which to get to it, so it will get injured if they decide to move it and there's a strong chance it will die. So I try to keep it well-fed and happy," he said. .

The question is whether the condo can legally keep the shark since the Wild Animal and Birds Act specifies that, apart from six species of birds, you cannot keep "any wild animal or bird" without a licence.

"Normally, you do not need a licence to keep fish. But if you keep unusual fish which affects its welfare or is a danger to the public, we will investigate it," said Mr Goh Shih Young of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

To this, Ms Amy Corrigan, Acres' director of zoology, responded: "We're confused, since the AVA seems to be suggesting that you need a licence to own a dog, but you don't need one to own a 2m-long nurse shark."

Today Online 24 Feb 06
Were wildlife laws amended?
Letter from Louis Ng
President and Executive Director
Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres)

I REFER to the article "OK to keep pet shark without a licence?" (Feb 23).

Section 5 of the Wild Animals and Birds Act clearly states that "any person who kills, takes or keeps any wild animal or bird, other than those specified in the Schedule, without a licence shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and to the forfeiture of the wild animal or bird." The Schedule lists only six species of birds.

Can the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority clarify if this Act has been recently amended, or have sharks been included in the Schedule, thereby allowing people to keep these animals without a licence?

If indeed the Act has been amended, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) is very disturbed. It is undoubtedly dangerous to allow people to keep any type of sharks, especially since some, such as nurse sharks, can grow to about four metres in length.

There are clearly animal welfare concerns as well since most sharks are adapted to life in the open sea.

Acres firmly believes that to not regulate the keeping of carnivorous sharks will have potentially severe consequences.

Today Online 25 Feb 06
Wild animals aren't pets Why no action, AVA? Illegal pet purchase?
Letter from Aarti Srivastava
Letter from Teo Li Lian

Several upset readers wrote in after reading about a 1.7m-long pet nurse shark and two black-tip reef sharks being kept in a tank beside the pool at Parc Palais condominium. Here are two of the letters.

I read the article, "OK to keep pet shark without a licence?" (Feb 23), with much horror and frustration.

Despite the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) pointing out to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) that keeping dogs require a licence, so why not sharks, the AVA bizarrely replied no licence was required to keep fish.

Surely it must have considered that at issue here was a carnivorous shark that could grow up to 4m in length. As the article describes, the tank in which the sharks are housed is in fact too small for the creatures.

Ironically, the AVA's website states that part of its mission is to "safeguard the health of animals".

While it was irresponsible of the Parc Palais management to keep these creatures in such dismal conditions, the AVA has the power to rectify this. If the AVA cannot confiscate the animals on licensing grounds, the least it can do is relocate them to the Underwater World.

This would send a message that exotic animals belong to the open seas and sanctuaries, not in a backyard.


This issue is disturbing on three counts.

One, the nonchalance with which Parc Palais obtained and kept the nurse shark without consideration for its well-being and growth over the past five years. One shudders to think about the many other exotic animal displays in other parts of Singapore. A basement aquarium on Orchard Road springs to mind.

Two, who did Parc Palais buy the shark from? Does this type of animal transaction contravene any law? If the seller is a licensed pet-trade operator and such transactions are illegitimate, it raises concerns about the adequacy of the AVA's licensing system.

Three, the regulations seem ambiguous. The AVA's Mr Goh Shih Young was quoted as saying: "Normally, you do not need a licence to keep fish. But if you keep unusual fish that affects its welfare or is a danger to the public, we will investigate it."

Yet, the Wild Animal and Birds Act specifies that, apart from six species of birds, you cannot keep "any wild animal or bird" without a licence.

Surely, the sharks at Parc Palais are wild animals? Will the AVA clarify this point, please?

Today Online 2 Mar 06
AVA says OK to sharks as pets but animal activists concerned
Vinita Ramani

RESIDENTS and readers concerned about the welfare of a 1.7 metre nurse shark and two black-tipped reef sharks in an aquarium at Parc Palais condominium have been informed by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) that a licence is not required to keep sharks as pets.

The incident came to a head after the Animal Concerns and Research Society (Acres) was told that an aquarium attached to the swimming pool at Parc Palais condominium was home to the three sharks.

The largest of these, the nurse shark, has been in the aquarium for nearly six years and is fed daily by a caretaker who feeds it through a manhole.

Following the reactions, the AVA has advised the condominium management to remove the two black-tipped reef sharks, which can grow to one metre in length, as the tank may not be able to "accommodate them when they are fully grown".

Acres, however, has expressed concern about the interpretation of the law and the ownership of wild animals, pointing out that under the Animals and Birds (Pet Shop and Exhibition) Rules 2004, the AVA does not permit the sale of sharks in pet shops as these are fish that have a large territorial range in their natural habitat.

"So it's contradictory to say that it's acceptable to keep a pet shark in a small tank, when it isn't legal to buy it," said Acres' president and executive director Louis Ng.

The AVA explained that sharks are not allowed to be sold in pet shops as they may not have the space, but sharks can be sold in fish farms, which have more space to house larger tanks.

Some of the residents at the condominium, however, are none too pleased. Science enrichment teacher Shanmuganathan Kasibyravan, who moved out six months ago, said: "It was sad to see the shark in such a small tank. Some residents and I wrote to the management about it, but nothing was done."

Teacher Mary Lynn Cogliano said: "The apartment has been a preferred location to many expatriates I know. But I don't think that will be the case in the future unless the captive sharks are moved to an appropriate location."

A group of 20 people who live at Parc Palais or are friends of residents living at the condominium like Ms Cogliano, have signed a collective letter to express their feelings.

Today Online 2 Mar 06
Parc Palais condo's sharks are not dangerous: AVA
Letter from Goh Shih Yong Assistant Director, Corporate Communications for Chief Executive Officer, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority, Ministry of National Development

WE REFER to the various letters, published between Feb 24 and 26, that raised concerns over the welfare of the nurse shark and black tipped reef sharks kept at the Parc Palais condominium, and the legality of keeping wild animals without a licence.

The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) would like to clarify that under the Wild Animals (Licensing) Order, only certain wild animals cannot be kept without a licence. These are big mammals such as kangaroos, monkeys, the big cats (eg tigers and lions), bears, elephants, and hoofed wild animals such as deers and zebras.

Fishes and birds, including those that come from the wild, do not require any licence to be kept as pets.

As the regulatory authority that safeguards animal health and welfare, AVA will investigate any reports of animal cruelty or the illegal keeping of wild animals. For wild animal species not traditionally kept as pets in Singapore such as ferrets, snakes, iguanas and hermit crabs, AVA will evaluate their suitability to be imported in commercial numbers for the pet trade.

In the evaluation, AVA would consider factors such as the animals' health and welfare, environmental impact, public safety, and whether they are endangered species.

In the case of the Parc Palais sharks, they are not an endangered species and were imported in small numbers by some of our marine fish traders. AVA has investigated the case and assessed, in consultation with Underwater World (Singapore), that the sharks are in good condition and are being provided with adequate space and care in a captive environment. There is no public safety issue as the sharks are not dangerous and live well in aquaria.

Nevertheless, AVA has advised the condominium management to remove the two black tipped reef sharks in view that the capacity of the tank may not be able to accommodate them when they are fully grown.

We thank the writers for their feedback.

Today Online 4 Mar 06
Laws in murky waters?
Odd to move smaller sharks but not bigger one
Prohibitions should apply to buyers, farms

Letter from Dawn Lee

I AM glad that the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) has asked the Parc Palais condominium to remove the black tip reef sharks from a tank.

But I am puzzled as to why AVA is not removing the nurse shark as well. Nurse sharks can grow to four times larger than the black tip reef sharks. The nurse shark is currently 2m long, twice the size of a full-grown black tip reef shark. If the tank is too small for the black tip reef sharks, surely it is also too small for the nurse shark.

Furthermore, the Wild Animals and Birds Act states that the import, export and keeping of wildlife without a licence, except for the six species of birds listed in the Schedule, is prohibited.

Sharks do not appear in the Schedule, and a reasonable interpretation, as it seems to me, is that it is illegal to keep sharks without a licence.

I am also puzzled as to why AVA has now said that it may be possible to keep snakes as pets when AVA's website has said that imported wild animals such as snakes cannot be kept as pets.

Can AVA clarify?

Letter from Goh Boon Choo

I REFER to the article "AVA says OK to sharks as pets but animal activists concerned", and AVA's letter "Parc Palais condo's sharks are not dangerous" (March 2).

AVA "explained that sharks are not allowed to be sold in pet shops as they may not have the space, but sharks can be sold in fish farms, which have more space to house larger tanks".

Mr Goh Shih Yong of AVA also stated in his letter that "fishes and birds, including those that come from the wild, do not require any licence to be kept as pets".

However, AVA prohibits the sale of sharks in pet shops. According to the licence conditions under the Animals and Birds (Pet Shop and Exhibition) Rules 2004: "The following fish are not permitted: Fish that have a large territorial range in their natural habitat, eg. sharks, rays."

Do fish farms come under the purview of these rules? Since AVA recognises the "large territorial range in their natural habitat", how does it reconcile this with its decision to let fish farms sell sharks without restricting who can buy them?

Mr Goh also stated that in evaluating the suitability of wild animals "to be imported in commercial numbers for the pet trade", AVA would "consider factors such as the animals' health and welfare, environmental impact, public safety, and whether they are endangered species".

Given the situation of sharks in the wild, unregulated private ownership of sharks in Singapore will potentially contribute to the decline of wild shark populations.

Today Online 13 Mar 06
Clean up the Act, AVA: More clarifications needed to address shark's captive space
Letter from Louis Ng (MSc) President and Executive Director Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres)

I refer to the letter "AVA's stand on sharks, snakes and wild animals" (March 10).

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) is confused by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority's (AVA) response and we urge them to provide further clarifications and justifications for not advising Parc Palais to remove the nurse shark.

The AVA has prohibited pet shops from selling sharks as they "have a large territorial range in their natural habitat".

There is no distinction made in the Animals and Birds (Pet Shop and Exhibition) Rules 2004 as to whether or not the sharks are active or inactive by nature. Nurse sharks in the wild live in an area of a few hundred square kilometres (Carrier & Luer 1990; Kohler et al 1998). The nurse shark at Parc Palais was probably caught from the wild and now lives in approximately 0.000000045 per cent of its natural home range.

Even without taking this point into consideration, it is quite clear that the nurse shark at the Parc Palais condominium is not provided with adequate space. As seen from pictures, the length of the nurse shark is already longer than the width of the tank. In addition, even if one argues that the tank is sufficiently large, we still have to consider that the nurse shark will potentially double in size in the future.

The AVA has also not responded to the query from Goh Boon Choo letter "Prohibitions should apply to buyers, farms" (March 4-5): "Since AVA recognises the 'large territorial range in their natural habitat', how does it reconcile this with its decision to let fish farms sell sharks without restricting who can buy them?"

The AVA has earlier stated that "under the Wild Animals (Licensing) Order, only certain wild animals cannot be kept without a licence". The AVA mentioned that snakes are not allowed to be kept as pets, but Acres would like to enquire which law states it.

Like sharks, snakes are similarly not listed in the Wild Animals (Licensing) Order but the AVA has confiscated these animals from private ownership. It would seem that there is much ambiguity in the Wild Animals and Birds Act and perhaps it is time to improve and amend the law to make it a more effective tool in the protection of wild animals.
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