YEAR OF THE Reptile
The serpent is an opportune animal that represents prosperity and good fortune in Chinese culture.
Even though it is prohibited in Singapore, this may cause some to want to keep one since they are not allowed to be kept as pets.
In ACRES, a rise in cases of people abandoning or giving up wild snakes occurred in 2013, the final year of the snake’s zodiac.
Leva, a sexual ball python found in a car company’s lost-and-found section that year, is one of the reptiles that the organization continues to care for to this day.
According to the animal shelter organization, the ball python is one of the most frequently traded improper snake species in Singapore.
Leva has been under ACRES ‘ treatment for 12 centuries but the species, tribal to West and Central Africa, may live up to 30 years.
The non-profit claimed that its center is nearing its optimum capacity and only accepts wild animals on a case-by-case basis.
The organisation is currently cover more than 120 species in quarantine, and hopes to return them where feasible.
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
Wildlife specialists warned that buying and owning illegal animals not just violates the law, but also causes abuse to the animals.
” When wild creatures are smuggled, they are usually smuggled in big numbers. They go through a lot of problems and suffering”, said one of ACRES ‘ Directors Kalaivanan Balakrishnan.
” The whole smuggling approach is unethical. Maybe it’s linked to other pleasures. Therefore, purchasing illegal animals could actually help you fund other illegal activities as well.
According to the Herpetological Society of Singapore ( HSS), many reptiles and amphibians are subject to heat stress or even perish when brought into transit in high temperatures, such as in a car in the hot sun. Because they have cool blood, they are unable to regulate their body temperatures.  ,
Additionally, Singapore does not have a good specialist equipment to treatment for them.
Those who elude or are abandoned in the wild after their proprietors are sick of them are often safe from harm.
HSS, which advocates for the protection of snakes and reptiles, has seen some move up as roadkill in its database.
” Many of these creatures do not pass away in pain.” The worst-case situation is that they have a breeding people and they start impacting our native wildlife”, said Law Ing Sind, co-founder of the world.
AGAINST THE LAW
Nevertheless, the demand is it.
CNA discovered a neighborhood Telegram channel with over 10,000 subscribers that connects pirates and producers of non-native animals with buyers.
Some of the available types are nationally endangered.
One seller claimed that he could enter Singapore with an amazing snake in one to three days.
The National Parks Board ( NPPs ) stated that Singapore takes a zero-tolerance position regarding illegal wildlife trade.
The legal board routinely monitors real and virtual marketplaces and collaborates with partner organizations to halt trade at border checkpoints.
The only reptiles that can be kept as pets in Singapore are the local Malayan field tortoise and the red-eared slider turtle.