9 who fed or watched wild boars to be fined for breaching circuit breaker measures
SINGAPORE — Nine individuals found watching or feeding wild boars that appeared near Tampines Expressway will be fined for breaching circuit breaker measures, the National Parks Board (NParks) said.
A video of a man feeding a herd of wild boars at Lorong Halus had been circulating in social media and chat groups over the weekend, resulting in NParks officers conducting operations at the site.
NParks officers caught the man and two others, who were seen in the video. Six others were caught on separation occasions in the same operation.
All of them will be fined for breaching measures under the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act for carrying out non-essential activities or gathering at the site despite being from different households, said NParks.
The authority advised the public to stay home to minimise the risk of the coronavirus spreading, and go out only for essential activities.
Apart from that, NParks advised the public against feeding wildlife for fear of disrupting the balance of the ecosystem.
NParks Wildlife Management Group Director Dr Adrian Loo said that feeding altered the natural behaviour of wildlife and made animals reliant on humans for food.
“In turn, they may associate humans as food providers and have an increased propensity to approach humans,” said Dr Loo.
“This may lead to them displaying aggressive behaviour towards people, venturing into urban areas in search of human sources of food and wandering onto roads, posing a potential danger to motorists and to themselves.”
Feeding wild animals might also cause them to lose natural foraging and survival skills.
“Many animals fulfil ecological roles such as pollinators and seed dispersers, and these processes may be disrupted when they rely on humans for food instead,” Dr Loo added.
Processed food fed to animals might also caused them health problems, while feeding animals may result in an unnatural increase in the wildlife population.
The amendments to the Wild Animals and Birds Act were passed by Parliament on 25 March and will take effect later. With the changes, NParks can take action against those who feed wildlife without the approval of the Director-General.
First-time offenders caught feeding wildlife could be fined up to $5,000, and repeat offenders could be fined up to $10,000.
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