MP Louis Ng introduces Private Member’s Bill to better protect wildlife, crack down on poachers

SINGAPORE — Member of Parliament (MP) Louis on Friday (March 6) introduced his first Private Member’s Bill proposing tougher measures to protect Singapore’s wildlife through amendments to the Wild Animals and Birds Act (WABA).

If passed, the Bill would, among other things, make the indiscriminate feeding and release of all wildlife in Singapore illegal, and close a loophole which allows animal trappers to escape from the long arm of the law.

Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency (GRC) MP Louis Ng, who introduced the Bill on Friday told Parliament that the amendments to the Act seek to strengthen the protection, preservation and management of wildlife for the purposes of maintaining a healthy ecosystem and safeguarding of public safety and health.

“After more than two years of work by the Wild Animals Legislation Review Committee (WALRC), I’m proud to say that we are now ready to move the Bill,” said Mr Ng, who chaired the committee. A Private Member’s Bill, which allows any MP to initiate legislation, is fairly rare in Singapore.

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Mr Ng, the founder of the wildlife rescue group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) told TODAY on Thursday that aside from amendments, new provisions have been added to WABA. “It’s quite comprehensive, almost like re-writing the whole (Act),” he said.

“I’m grateful that so many people shared their views and suggestions on this Bill and proud that I’ve introduced this Bill in Parliament on behalf of the people and the animals.”

More details will be revealed at a later date, but here is a summary of the Bill’s back story, and some of the new or amended provisions, as shared by Mr Ng.

WHAT IS WABA, AND WHY IS IT BEING CHANGED?

WABA is the main piece of legislation that protects wildlife in Singapore. It was first enacted in 1965.

During the first public consultation over the proposed amendments on May 4, 2018, Mr Ng told the media there was a need to align the Act with Singapore’s other animal-related legislation.

For instance, amendments to the Animals and Birds Act were passed in 2014. WABA, he said, was outdated as the Act was last revised in 2000.

Over the course of two years, WALRC has been working on the amendments based on face-to-face as well as online public consultation exercises.

Mr Ng told Parliament on Friday that pest management firms, as well as religious leaders, were also consulted.

WALRC includes representatives of the Nature Photographic Society (Singapore), the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) law faculty, and the Singapore Pest Management Association.

CLOSING THE LOOPHOLES

Under WABA, it is an offence for any person to kill, take or keep any wild animal or bird.

“There is a bit of a loophole (here),” said Mr Ng on Thursday, “When you say cannot take, under the law, that means you have to catch them in the act of taking.”

“But now we are going to put provisions that say you are not allowed to trap, so if you put a trap out it’s already illegal.”

SOME OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS

Feeding of animals: Currently, WABA bans only the feeding of pigeons and wild animals in nature reserves.

The proposed amendments will make it illegal to feed all wild animals throughout Singapore.

In recent years, human-wildlife conflict has become more prominent and experts have told TODAY previously that it usually arises when humans take steps such as feeding animals.

Release of wildlife: Another loophole that Mr Ng is hoping to close relates to the release of animals into Singapore’s waterways.

Presently, it is only an offence to release animals in selected areas such as nature reserves and reservoirs. The aim is to prevent alien species causing havoc with native wildlife.

The Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at NUS said in a paper published in 2013 that the narrow scope of the legislative provision is problematic since aquatic species can move easily between connected water bodies, including drains.

The National Parks Board (NParks) said on its website that invasive alien species are known to be one of the main threats leading to biodiversity loss.

Heftier fines: There are currently no fines associated with the release or feeding of wildlife without approval.

However, Mr Ng hopes to change that. The Bill proposes a fine of S$5,000 each for first time offenders.

Those caught killing, trapping, taking or keeping wildlife without approval are currently subject to a S$1,000 fine, but Mr Ng wants to increase this 10-fold to S$10,000. A jail term of up to six months will also be introduced for these offences.

Owners of animal-related businesses committing such offences could be liable to a fine of up to S$20,000 and a 12 months’ jail term.

A fine of up to S$50,000 and a jail term of up to two years will also be introduced to tackle poaching offences such as killing, trapping, taking or keeping protected wildlife.

As for the setting of traps, such as spring guns, the fine could be increased from S$1,000 to S$20,000 if Mr Ng’s Bill is passed. The current jail term of up to six months could be similarly increased to 12 months.

Stronger enforcement: Mr Ng said he is also proposing that relevant enforcement agencies be given more power to remove unauthorised traps, and direct people to pay costs of repatriating the animals, among other costs.

He said the amendments may also allow for the seizure of vehicles used for the smuggling of animals.

“It’s quite extensive (to those caught offending)…(but) we have to have a very strong deterrence,” he said.

Mr Ng also said that the amendments will also introduce a provision that will allow the Director-General, Wildlife Management of NParks, to direct developers carrying out works in environmentally sensitive areas to comply with environmental impact mitigation measures.

There is currently no such requirement.

“We need to have some teeth on the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessments), rather than you do an EIA and there is no penalty,” said Mr Ng. “Now we can introduce a penalty, and developers will likely take it more seriously.”

WHAT IS A PRIVATE MEMBER’S BILL?

According to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, a Bill may be introduced in Parliament by any MP. Most Bills are Government Bills introduced by ministers, but any MP may also introduce his own Bill.

Here are some other Private Member’s Bills, most of which became Acts, from Singapore’s history:

• Roman Catholic Archbishop Act — Former People’s Action Party (PAP) MPs Pathmanaban Selvadurai and Chiang Hai Ding. Introduced in 1974 and passed in 1975. This Bill was designed to legally incorporate the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore to allow it to perform acts such as the acquisition and moving of property, or to sue or be sued.

• Maintenance of Parents Act — Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Walter Woon. Introduced in 1994 and passed in 1995. The Act provides for Singapore residents aged 60 years old and above who are unable to subsist on their own, to claim maintenance from their children who are capable of supporting them but are not doing so. Parents can sue their children for lack of maintenance, in the form of monthly allowances or a lump-sum payment.

• Prevention Of Human Trafficking Act — Mr Christopher de Souza, MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC. Introduced and passed in 2014. The Act serves to deter the trafficking of persons and supports the rehabilitation of trafficked victims, especially vulnerable individuals.

• Family Violence Bill — Singapore’s first female NMP Dr Kanwaljit Soin. Introduced in 1995. It was not passed. The Bill called for the criminalisation of domestic violence and for concrete policy measures to address the issue.

• Animals and Birds Act (Amendment) — Former Ang Mo Kio GRC MP and chairman of the Animal Welfare Legislation Review Committee Yeo Guat Kwang. Introduced and passed in 2014. The amendments to the Act sought to address animal welfare standards in Singapore through strengthening animal welfare legislation and enhancing stakeholders’ collaboration on animal welfare.