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Review wildlife practices with an eye to co-existence

I disagree with the writer “Make no apology about culling animals if it’s needed” (Feb 4). While there should be measures to prevent the potential harm to humans, culling is an inhumane and short-sighted response.

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Darren Chan Keng Leong

I disagree with the writer “Make no apology about culling animals if it’s needed” (Feb 4). While there should be measures to prevent the potential harm to humans, culling is an inhumane and short-sighted response.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) must look at situations carefully and communicate better with the public by doing surveys and the necessary groundwork before coming to a solution such as culling chickens. It should not give in before there is enough proof that culling is justifiable because of a public threat.

The authorities should instead step up efforts in educating residents on ways to coexist with wildlife and on alternative methods of mitigating safety concerns. This would foster a spirit of understanding and increase an appreciation of nature.

Humane wildlife monitoring and management would allow the AVA and animal welfare groups to do this.

There is also a need to better protect wildlife in Singapore. Their natural habitats are shrinking owing to human development, and this often causes problems such as animals having to encroach on residential areas to survive.

More can be done to conserve their habitats, rather than allowing them to make way for residential or commercial development, while laws should be passed to give animals some form of protection against culling.

I also urge the authorities to preserve urban wildlife to help teach the younger generation to protect nature, so that it will not be lost to urbanisation.

Observation of wildlife would help promote public interest in improving animal conservation and in gathering such feedback, while more in-depth studies should be conducted to understand the behaviour and impact of species.

I hope the authorities will review their wildlife management practices, working together with wildlife groups. With more groundwork, I believe, more animals and their habitats can be protected, rather than destroyed.

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