SINGAPORE — Four tortoises at a community farm in Ang Mo Kio were removed by officers from the National Parks Board (NParks) within hours of photos of an injured tortoise being posted on social media.

The photos, taken by concerned passers-by, showed a large tortoise with two distinct marks on its shell that appeared to be wounds.

In a response to TODAY's queries, NParks said that it was aware of the situation and had recovered four tortoises, including the injured tortoise that is now "recovering well" under NParks' care.

NParks added that it is illegal to keep tortoises as they are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

There is some dispute about the likely cause of the injuries to the tortoise.

The passers-by who intervened believe that it may have been pecked by black chickens, which shared the same space as the tortoises at the Ang Mo Kio Industrial Community Farm located at Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2.

When TODAY visited the farm on Monday, a volunteer who declined to be named said that there had been a misunderstanding and was adamant that the tortoises were "never abused or attacked" by the other animals in the enclosure.

He believes that the injuries may have been caused during mating practices by the tortoises, adding that farm volunteers had separated the injured female animal from the other tortoises.

PASSERS-BY CONCERNED AT SIGHT OF INJURED TORTOISE

The plight of the creature came to light when passers-by Guy Consigliere and his wife Jean Phua visited Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park to order a fish tank last Saturday.

As they were leaving, the couple noticed the tortoises and stopped to look.

They told TODAY that they were surprised to find the tortoises sharing a space with other animals such as chickens and geese.

They were most concerned by a tortoise located near the fence, for it had what appeared to be two wounds on its shell.

The couple tried to look for a person in charge but was not able to find anyone. So, Ms Phua turned to social media to get the word out while they remained near the tortoise enclosure.

"I placed this on Facebook because we were desperate to look for help," Ms Phua said.

The couple eventually got in touch with Ms Anbarasi Boopal, co-chief executive officer at Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), to relay what they had seen and the photos they had taken.

They continued to wait in the rain after their phone call with Ms Anbarasi and eventually saw officers from NParks arrive. 

"I think she's the one who called NParks and made sure that they came down," Mr Consigliere said as he recalled the relief he felt at seeing the trucks pull up at the venue.

"You could see NParks personnel all in uniform and they immediately went in with the large piece of canvas to carry the tortoises out to the NParks vehicles."

The couple said that it took nearly three hours to open the doors to the farm so that the NParks officers could get in to remove the tortoises. A person with the keys apparently had to head to the farm from Tuas.

This turned out to be the volunteer who had spoken to TODAY. He is part of a group of volunteers who visits the farm every weekend to tidy up and care for the animals.

"They made it look like such a big thing," the volunteer, in his 60s, said. "It looked as if we were involved in illegal trade."

He said that the community farm had been set up after a suggestion was made to the industrial park association for the different businesses to give back to society. The intention was to grow vegetables that would be harvested and given to households in need. 

After they received donations of animals, the farm was expanded to include them, which in turn led to the addition of the tortoises.

"We really didn't know tortoises were illegal to keep until NParks told us. We didn't even know what type of tortoises they were," he said.

He added: "We took them from the donors because our community farm had turned into a good way to educate young children, for free, on where our food comes from, and when the children come to feed the tortoises, they get so excited."

When TODAY asked what had caused the tortoise's injuries and if the other animals had attacked the tortoises, the volunteer sighed.

"This isn't a case of abuse and how can a chicken attack a tortoise? The reason for the injuries on the female tortoise were made during the mating process when the male tortoise tried to mount her," he said.

"It is likely to happen when the female tortoise might not want the male tortoise to mount her and in a struggle to maintain the position, the injury was caused."

He said that the volunteers had already separated the female tortoise from the rest. While they did not get a veterinarian or wildlife expert to consult on a treatment, they had gone to get antiseptic powder for the wounds. 

"We are not professionals, but when we saw that the tortoise was injured, we immediately got medicine for it. But that also does not mean that it will heal instantly."

He also said that before the removal of the tortoises by NParks, the farm had received a call from an expert who had offered to help take the tortoise for treatment.

However, when news of the injured tortoise started to spread on social media, the expert declined to be involved.

In a statement, Ms Anbasari said that Acres had been alerted to the case by concerned members of the public.

She said the tortoises in question are sulcata or African spurred tortoises, which are prohibited from being kept as pets in Singapore.

Ms Anbarasi said she hopes that the case is investigated by the authorities and that action is taken for the keeping of prohibited wildlife and housing them inappropriately with such injuries.

Although the farm volunteers have yet to receive any further word from NParks, they are holding out hope for the eventual return of their tortoises.

"If we can get them back, we would handle them in a different way. We would just separate the tortoises and not put them all together," the volunteer said.

"We care for the animals like they are our family, and they have been a great way to bring young children and their families together. At the end of the day, we just want to help out the community."