'A step closer': Singapore wildlife sanctuary ACRES expands to full 2ha after more than a decade

Source: CNA

SINGAPORE: When Mr Louis Ng set out to build a wildlife sanctuary in 2006, he never expected the cages, enclosures and ponds in 1.5ha of land would be left in disrepair for more than a decade.

The founder of Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES) had a dream to give animals a second lease of life amid the verdant nature of Sungei Tengah.

Enclosures for tortoises, cages for iguanas and monkeys, and ponds for turtles - the fruit of volunteers' labour - came to nought when brackish water started seeping out from the land.

"That was probably one of the worst times of my life," Mr Ng told CNA.

The site had been poisoned by a contractor ACRES had engaged for construction works, and was deemed unusable. ACRES only managed to salvage a quarter of the land where its office, education centre, animal facilities and staff quarters, now stand.

"All these dreams were about to come true. All of a sudden they have to be demolished. It was horrible," said Mr Ng, who is also a Member of Parliament.

Worse, the wildlife advocacy group could not recover a single cent from the contractor, which ACRES took to court in 2008.

The wildlife rescue centre at 91 Jalan Lekar was just recently given the green light to expand to its original size - four times the 0.5ha it currently occupies.

"We are thrilled to announce that we have an official green light to proceed with the use of the back area," co-CEO Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan told CNA.

"This is, of course, subject to conditions, but we are relieved that we can finally slowly get to work to utilise the back area."

However years of disuse have left the 1.5ha behind its current premises overrun with foliage. Only a small footpath winds through dense vegetation, past structures that were abandoned after initial plans.