8 people who fed wild boars at Lorong Halus charged under stricter Wildlife Act, another 11 to be charged: NParks

• They had been caught by NParks staff feeding wild boars with bread or dog food 
• Feeding wild animals may result in them venturing into urban areas in search for human sources of food, said NParks 
• Amendments made to the Wildlife Act include stricter penalties for the feeding and releasing of animals in the wild, and came into effect June last year

SINGAPORE — Eight people were charged in court on Wednesday (Jan 13) for feeding wild boars and another 11 will be charged for the same offence over the next two weeks, the National Parks Board (NParks) said.

Four of them pleaded guilty on Wednesday and were fined S$2,500 each.

NParks staff on inspection rounds had caught them feeding wild boars with bread or dog food at Lorong Halus between Nov 26 and Dec 7 last year, the agency said. These incidents involved groups ranging from one person to three people, NParks said. 

In November last year, The Straits Times reported that a woman was exercising at Sungei Api Api Park in Pasir Ris — just a few kilometers from Lorong Halus — when she was attacked by a wild boar. 

It was reported that the 50-year-old suffered leg and facial injuries as a result.

Under the Wildlife Act, first-time offenders could be fined up to S$5,000, and repeat offenders could be fined up to S$10,000.

The four fined on Wednesday were Miko Neo Hwee Li and Lee Jun Rong Jovan, both aged 20; Ow Congyang, 38; and Soh Cheng Luan, 51.

Lee told the court that he was planning to go to “the farm” on the evening of Nov 27 last year, but chanced upon a woman feeding wild dogs. 

“We wanted to give the bread but my friend said dogs don’t accept bread. So we gave it to the wild boar,” he added.

The other four individuals charged on Wednesday were:

• Balu Bala Raman, 30

• Ganga Devi, 30

• Ong Jue Ying, 24

• Marcus Sim Jing Wei, 26

“This is the first time that NParks has brought so many individuals to court since the Act came into effect in June last year, signalling an increasingly serious stance towards the feeding of wildlife,” NParks said. 

It added that it takes a “serious view of the feeding of wildlife”. 

“Intentional feeding or irresponsible discarding of food alters the natural foraging behaviour of wildlife and habituates them to human presence and relying on humans for an easy source of food.” 

This can result in wildlife having an increased propensity to approach humans for food, and may lead to them venturing into urban areas in search for human sources of food, NParks added. This includes wandering onto roads and posing a danger to motorists, and displaying aggressive behaviour towards people. 

“If wildlife turn aggressive due to constant feeding, they may have to be put down to safeguard public safety,” NParks said.

Feeding wildlife with processed foods can also cause health problems to the animals, as the food is not suitable for them. 

INCREASED ENFORCEMENT 

Amendments were made last year to the Wild Animals and Birds Act to include stricter penalties for the feeding and releasing of animals in the wild. 

It was renamed the Wildlife Act, and came into effect in June last year. 

NParks has identified several feeding hotspots since then, based on the mapping of the wildlife distribution and feedback throughout Singapore. It has taken enforcement action against 62 people for wildlife feeding, with more than 20 taken to court. 

NParks added that it carries out population surveys and research studies to understand the distribution of wild boars throughout Singapore’s nature areas, in order to manage the wild boar population. 

Despite these efforts, illegal feeding may lead to situations where wild boars may pose a safety hazard to the public and thus need to be relocated or culled humanely, said NParks. 

Examples include situations where there is an overpopulation and incursion of wild boars into urban areas in search of human food.