Individuals Caught for Wildlife Feeding and Mental Wellness Programmes or Counselling for Repeat Offenders Besides Fine
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns statistics on wildlife feeding and rehabilitation for repeat offenders, as raised by MP Ms Yeo Wan Ling. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee reported that 309 individuals were caught for illegal feeding from April 2022 to October 2023, including 186 involving pigeons. Beyond fines, the National Parks Board partners with the Agency for Integrated Care to address motivations like loneliness through nature-based activities or professional counselling. These efforts are part of a holistic management strategy that includes food source reduction, habitat modification, and public awareness campaigns to discourage feeding. This inter-agency approach aims to safeguard public health and manage wildlife populations by addressing both the enforcement and psychological aspects of offender behavior.
Transcript
41 Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for National Development (a) in the past 18 months, how many people have been caught for wildlife feeding, in particular, the feeding of pigeons; and (b) besides incurring a fine, whether the Ministry will consider putting in place mental wellness programmes or counselling for repeat offenders.
Mr Desmond Lee: From April 2022 to October 2023, 309 individuals were found to feed wildlife illegally. One hundred and eighty-six of these individuals were feeding pigeons. The National Parks Board (NParks) takes appropriate enforcement action based on the circumstances of each case. This may include issuing an advisory, warning or composition fine. Offenders may also be prosecuted in Court.
For repeat offenders, NParks partners the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), Municipal Services Office, People’s Association and Town Councils to understand their motivations and discourage them from continuing to feed wildlife. For example, some may feed wildlife due to loneliness or because they are concerned that the animals are not getting enough food in the wild.
NParks offers these feeders nature-based activities as alternatives to feeding. This includes community gardening, which creates opportunities for them to be engaged socially with others, and birdwatching, where they can observe how wild birds forage naturally without human-generated food sources. For individuals with mental health needs, AIC will link them with appropriate services, such as counselling, for support.
NParks also works with the Singapore Food Agency, NEA and Town Councils to raise general public awareness on the negative impacts of feeding wildlife. This is part of NParks’ holistic approach to wildlife management, which also includes measures, such as food source reduction, habitat modification and population control.
All of us can play our part to keep the populations of wildlife species under control and safeguard public health and safety by not feeding wildlife and keeping our environment clean.