April, 2009
Be Responsible!
A pet is a wonderful thing to have, but you have to remember that looking after one is a big responsibility. It requires a serious and often long-term commitment on your part to provide the animal not only with lots of love but also with the right living conditions.
Unfortunately, not everyone thinks so seriously before buying a pet. They get carried away by how cute an animal is and rush to the cashier without considering if they are really equipped to look after a living creature. The result is that after a while some owners get tired of looking after the animal or find that it has grown too big to be managed at home, and so they abandon the poor creature in a park or a reservoir.
It is, however, a mistake to think that releasing pets into the wild is an act of kindness. (After all, aren’t you giving the animals their freedom and returning them to their natural environment?) The harsh reality is that an animal that has spent so much time in a cage or a tank being looked after by humans hasn’t developed its natural ability to survive in the wild. It will not be able to find food and shelter, nor run away from predators. The National Parks Board estimates that about 90% of all released animals die within a day.
Abandoning animals is not only cruel and thus considered a punishable crime in Singapore, it can also prove disastrous to our local environment. Animals that are not native to this country can compete with indigenous wildlife for food, shelter and living space. They can also pass on diseases against which local animals have no immunity. This creates an ecological imbalance, which in extreme cases can push local animals to extinction.
For example, the Red-eared Slider and the Chinese Soft Shell Turtle are pets that are frequently dumped in our reservoirs and canals when they become fully-grown. These turtles are not native to Singapore, and so their introduction to the local ecosystem has upset the natural balance. Many think that the presence of these reptiles could be part of the reason why the population of Singapore’s own wild turtles are decreasing.
Unfortunately, not everyone thinks so seriously before buying a pet. They get carried away by how cute an animal is and rush to the cashier without considering if they are really equipped to look after a living creature. The result is that after a while some owners get tired of looking after the animal or find that it has grown too big to be managed at home, and so they abandon the poor creature in a park or a reservoir.
It is, however, a mistake to think that releasing pets into the wild is an act of kindness. (After all, aren’t you giving the animals their freedom and returning them to their natural environment?) The harsh reality is that an animal that has spent so much time in a cage or a tank being looked after by humans hasn’t developed its natural ability to survive in the wild. It will not be able to find food and shelter, nor run away from predators. The National Parks Board estimates that about 90% of all released animals die within a day.
Abandoning animals is not only cruel and thus considered a punishable crime in Singapore, it can also prove disastrous to our local environment. Animals that are not native to this country can compete with indigenous wildlife for food, shelter and living space. They can also pass on diseases against which local animals have no immunity. This creates an ecological imbalance, which in extreme cases can push local animals to extinction.
For example, the Red-eared Slider and the Chinese Soft Shell Turtle are pets that are frequently dumped in our reservoirs and canals when they become fully-grown. These turtles are not native to Singapore, and so their introduction to the local ecosystem has upset the natural balance. Many think that the presence of these reptiles could be part of the reason why the population of Singapore’s own wild turtles are decreasing.
| What would you do if your friend was thinking of abandoning her pet? |
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Protecting Endangered Species
