Community-based Interventions and Alternative Penalties for Illegal Bird-feeding Cases Involving Seniors

53 Ms Elysa Chen asked the Minister for National Development in view that seniors aged 65 and above account for approximately half of the 320 annual cases of illegal bird-feeding reported to National Parks Board between 2023 and 2025, whether the Ministry will expand community-based interventions and consider alternative penalties that address the underlying social and health factors driving this behaviour among vulnerable elderly residents.

Mr Chee Hong Tat: The National Parks Board (NParks) adopts a multi-pronged approach to manage illegal bird feeding. To complement enforcement efforts, NParks partners with the Agency for Integrated Care, Town Councils and other agencies to engage elderly offenders and offenders with mental health needs to understand their underlying motivations, address misconceptions and raise awareness on the negative impacts of bird feeding.

Besides expanding these community support programmes, NParks also plans to revise the penalties for illegal wildlife feeding to increase the range of sentencing options available to the Court to include community-based orders.