Should animals be caged? Protection or Depriving freedom

20 January 2009

Straits Times
Forum

Dear Sir/Madam,

Pity the dolphins caught from the wild

I REFER to the article, 'Senator cites Mexico's sad experience with dolphins' (Jan 12), which reported that Mexican senator Jorge Legorreta Ordorica had written to National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan last month to relate Mexico's experience - 12 out of 28 dolphins Mexico had imported from the Solomon Islands in 2003 had died from illnesses, ranging from a muscle disorder to pneumonia.

Mr Ordorica urged Mr Mah to consider the disturbing mortality rate of the animals when evaluating import applications for such animals.

It had been reported previously that seven bottlenose dolphins, part of a group of 18 destined for Resorts World Sentosa, were taken from the wild in the Solomon Islands.
Although Singapore reportedly thanked Mr Ordorica for his letter, and has stated that the dolphins here will require Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) import and export permits, this in no way addresses or eliminates the stress, suffering and health risks these creatures
have been subjected to and will endure in the whole process.

Marine Life Park has said its dolphin enclosure will more than meet the minimum space requirements for the dolphins, but in an era where corporate social responsibility is emphasised in relation to environmental concerns, it will not reflect well on Singapore's image and may also cause a dent in its reputation.
The act of taking these animals from the wild (endangered or not) is at odds with the letter and spirit of Singapore's Wild Animals & Birds Act, which prohibits the taking of an animal from the wild.

The list of injustices throughout the dolphins' ordeal is extensive and heart-rending to those in animal welfare:

- Removing them from their natural habitat involves loss of their freedom and natural behaviour;

- Being subjected to long holding periods before their arrival in Singapore;

- Having to endure a stressful journey involving handling and transport; and

- Forcing them to adapt to an alternative lifestyle in a man-made structure, to be tamed and trained for human benefit and enjoyment.

The SPCA wrote recently to Resorts World Sentosa to object to the import of these dolphins caught from the wild and asked for a review and reversal of its decision.

Kudos to cargo air services company UPS, which reportedly refused to ship the dolphins from the Philippines to Singapore because 'the practice violated its environmental principles'.

Yes, people must be educated to appreciate marine life, but not at the animals' expense.

Deirdre Moss (Ms)
Executive Officer
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Jobs available at Singapore Zoo

Part Time Receptionist at Singapore Zoo

Responsibilities:

Operates the telephone switchboard
Handles incoming calls and attends to general telephone enquiries
Forward email enquiries/feedback to the appropriate departments
Attends to visitors
Handles all incoming and outgoing mails and couriers
Requirements:

Min GCE “A” Level
Relevant working experience will be an advantage
Good communications skill
Pleasant, cheerful with good telephone etiquette
Computer literate
Able to work on weekends and PH
If you have an affinity to work with nature or in a wildlife environment, please send in your detailed resume to:

Human Resources Department
Singapore Zoological Gardens
80 Mandai Lake Road Singapore 729826
Email: recruit@zoo.com.sg

Visit Ah Meng Restaurant

Singapore, January 13, 2009 - The Singapore Zoo wanted to remember her but a sculpture of her wasn't enough.

So it decided to open two new eateries named after its longtime resident and icon Ah Meng the orang utan who died of old age last year. Called Ah Meng Restaurant and Ah Meng Kopi, the zoo hope it will help keep the memory of is best-known resident alive.

But already, there's an Ah Meng Cafe, operating since 1994, in Orchard Plaza in Orchard Road, catering to locals and tourists.

But the good-natured owner, Michael Tan, 65, a fan of the orang utan, would not be taking action against the zoo for using Ah Meng's name.

He said: "I registered my cafe's name but the zoo has the right to use the same name. But I'm not going to sue them or insist that they change the name," he told SoShiok.com

"I named my restaurant Ah Meng Cafe as Ah Meng is a famous Singapore icon. I kept a photo of Ah Meng having breakfast with Bernard Harrison before. I felt sad when Ah Meng died last year, and I did think of giving up the business. And also partly because I'm old and my children are not interested in the business," Mr Tan added.

His mission in opening the restaurant, which has sidewalk seating, was to help rescue the old street food of Singapore from vanishing. He was in showbiz in his younger days but was influenced by the F & B trade at his performing venues.

In fact, Mr Tan, also nicknamed as "Ah Meng" by regular patrons, has also earned international fame. His cafe, which offers local dishes, seafood and BBQ dishes, is shown in a video to passengers on SIA flights arriving in Singapore.

"SIA has done a good job by introducing foreigners to our cafe," said hardworking Mr Tan whose cafe is open from 11am till as late as 3am if there are still customers at that time.

The Peranakan man declared: "Every dish is authentic. Fish head curry, chilli crab, char siew rice, laksa, hor fun, curry chicken, satay, chicken rice and nasi lemak....Our chicken rice is popular. I learnt cooking before starting this restaurant but today I don't cook as much as my assistants can do those dishes very well."

Singapore Zoo lost its famous icon Ah Meng (left) when she died last year. Zookeeper Sam (seen here with her) was heartbroken.

Ah Meng eateries at the zoo

Singapore food is also the focus of the zoo's Ah Meng Kopi while its Ah Meng Restaurant has both local and western dishes.

Ah Meng Restaurant, located inside the zoo, offers chicken rice, dim sum, otak otak, chwee kuay, vegetarian and chicken briyani (pretty good), alongside western items like spaghetti, sandwiches, salad, hotdogs, fish & chips and cheesecake.

There are also 'Ah Meng flavoured' Durian Puffs...erm...you gotta go there to try them yourself. Don't try to prise our lips, we're not revealing more. Anyway, don't we all know that Ah Meng loved durians?

Located at the zoo's entrance, Ah Meng Kopi offers 'kopitiam' favourites like tea, coffee and dishes like mee siam and mee rebus.

Naming two restaurants after Ah Meng is not inappropriate as she was the star of countless "Breakfast with Ah Meng" events with visitors from all over the world including well-known celebrities.

So check out the new Ah Meng eateries soon and don't forget to say Hello to her - Ah Meng's resting place is by the water's edge of the lake.

And if you're in Orchard Road, drop in at Ah Meng Cafe at Orchard Plaza before Michael calls it a day.

Ah Meng Restaurant
Ah Meng Kopi
Singapore Zoo
80 Mandai Lake Road
Singapore 729826

Ah Meng Cafe (not related to the zoo)
150 Orchard Road
#01-35 Orchard Plaza
Singapore 238841
Tel: 67373611/ 67343611
Email: sales@ahmengcafe.com

Poor, abused workers at Singapore Zoo

Following our report on Sun City superviser's abuse of staff...

MOM, zoo act to protect workers

It Started with one brave soul and a fuzzy handphone video.

When a whistle blower contacted The New Paper last November, a week after zoo worker Nordin Montong was killed at the white tiger enclosure, a one-minute-long video was all he had.

It showed a worker from Sun City Maintenance, the same maintenance company Mr Nordin(the man who jump into white tigers' den) worked for, being verbally abused and beaten up by his supervisor in front of a crowd of onlookers.

The informant claimed that Sun City workers were also overworked and underpaid.

One month after The New Paper's report on the video, Sun City is now under investigation by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) for overworking its workers and making unauthorised salary deductions.

In the meantime, the zoo's parent company, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), has announced a slew of measures to protect Sun City workers.

Among the measures are dormitory inspections by WRS staff, making background checks on future sub-contractors and introducing compliance with employment laws as a condition in their contracts with sub-contractors.

Said Ms Fanny Lai, group chief executive officer of WRS: 'The video incident brought our awareness to a greater height... that workers, whether local or foreign, must be treated fairly. This is an issue very dear to my heart and I want to make sure that we walk the talk.'

Ms Lai was speaking to The New Paper on the sidelines of a thank-you brunch for the media, held at the Jurong Bird Park last week, where WRS also unveiled its revamped waterfall aviary.

Ms Lai said that when the allegations of worker abuse came to light, an internal investigation was immediately carried out.

WRS also brought up the issue to MOM and sought advice from the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union.

'Our HR people checked the living conditions of the Sun City workers and we had a few discussions with them,' said Ms Lai.

She declined to elaborate on what was discussed at the meetings but subsequently, WRS issued a warning letter to Sun City, stating that a repeat of the incident may result in the termination of its contract.

But the question remained. Why didn't alarm bells go off earlier?

The handphone video, originally taken last August by a Sun City worker who witnessed the beating, was passed to Sun City workers and WRS employees soon after.

'The video was circulating widely. Even the upper management at WRS saw the video a few weeks after the incident but they ignored it,' claimed the whistle-blower who wanted to be known only as Lawrence.

On hindsight, could the feedback channels at WRS have been improved?

Ms Lai agreed with the need for open feedback channels but added: 'We don't want to go back and ask (our staff), did you have the video, who gave it to you, when did you receive it, and so on and so forth. I focus more on the energy to move forward and how we can prevent a repeat of this incident.'

'Isolated'

It was an 'isolated' incident, she said, and one that WRS regrets took place.

But she also emphasised: 'The incident happened outside the zoo, at the carpark which is outside the work area of the zoo, and after office hours when the workers were waiting for the company bus to take them home.

'It was really not within our purview to intervene at that point in time.'

For Lawrence, however, the incident was less an isolated incident and more a 'tipping point' of the ill-treatment Sun City workers had been enduring silently for a long time.

The question of how much WRS knew about the allegations - and whether it should have acted earlier - might rest on the identity of a mystery man involved in the incident.

Towards the end of the video, a man wearing a yellow polo shirt and carrying a walkie-talkie on his belt was seen intervening and ordering the Sun City supervisor to stop the assault. After the situation was defused, he took out his walkie-talkie and spoke into it.

Who was this man? Night safari staff wear yellow shirts as part of their uniform, but they are not the only ones with walkie-talkies: Sun City supervisors use them too.

But Lawrence insisted that he is '101 per cent certain' the man is a manager from the Night Safari's operations department. He provided us his name.

'Even my colleagues agreed that it was him when they saw the pictures in the report,' he said.

Ms Lai, however, maintained that everyone involved was from Sun City. She said that WRS staff were informed about the incident afterwards but were 'not aware of its extent'.

She also said that WRS was unaware of Sun City's tainted record.

Checks with MOM had showed that Sun City was fined last October for overworking its workers and depriving them of annual leave.

What's most important now, she said, is to find a practical way forward.

Ms Lai said: 'Instead of going into the details, what I can say is that the whole incident happened within the contractors. But when people have committed a mistake, I think we should try to let it go. The most important thing is to move on, to have a better tomorrow.'

A happy worker will help the animals to be happy to.

Please Visit Singapore - We need you, our Tourist, Friends

Singapore's tourism sector fell short of its 2008 targets for visitor arrivals and revenue.

In a statement, the Singapore Tourism Board said that the industry had been hit by a dramatic slowdown in the second half of this year.

The tourism receipts grew by five percent over 2007, generating a record 14.8 billion dollars.

But this was still below the official target of 15.5 billion dollars.

Singapore also welcomed an estimated 10 million visitors in 2008, a decline of two percent against the previous year.

Visitors from Indonesia, China, Australia, India and Malaysia accounted for about half of total arrivals.

Average room rates based on data from January to November rose 23.5 percent over the same period in 2007, and total hotel room revenue climbed by about 14 percent.

But the average occupancy rate fell by almost six percent points to 82 percent.

In the statement, STB's Chief Executive, Aw Kah Peng said that Singapore's tourism turned in a credible and robust performance in 2008 despite the dramatic turn in the global economy in the second half of the year.

To help the sector through the tough times expected this year, STB is developing a global marketing campaign to drive visitorship to Singapore, emphasising on regional markets.

SINGAPORE ZOO AND NIGHT SAFARI OFFER VENUE FOR INAUGURAL SAFARI ZOO RUN ON FEB 7, 2009

Singapore Zoo and Night Safari are opening its doors for runners, joggers and walkers for the first time ever on February 7, 2009 at the inaugural Safari Zoo Run. The run is organised by Pink Apple Pte Ltd and part of the proceeds will go towards the care of endangered animals at Night Safari and Singapore Zoo. The inaugural Safari Zoo Run is a non-competitive run open to members of the public. It is non-competitive so that parents, families and children can participate in this event to bond and spend time, and also to encourage a healthy lifestyle through walks, jogs or runs.

“Singapore Zoo and Night Safari are located on 68 hectares of lush greenery overlooking the Upper Seletar Reservoir, and participants will be soaking in the beauty of nature during their jogs. We are pleased to offer our venues for families and individuals to enjoy the wonders of the parks in a different way. As Ah Meng was Singapore Zoo’s icon, we are glad that the run will not only remember her but will aid in conservation causes,” said Ms Fanny Lai, Group CEO, Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

Spanning a 6.2 km route that traverse the tram route across both parks, the run will begin at the coach bay area between Night Safari and Singapore Zoo covering the 3.2 km run at Night Safari before continuing with the Singapore Zoo route. Participation is open across all ages and is not segmented into categories. With an expected turnout of approximately 6,000 participants, both parks have in place multiple first aid and water points. With the flag-off at 4 pm, runners will have the luxury to complete the run by 5 pm for Night Safari and by 6 pm for Singapore Zoo. As the Safari Zoo Run is a non-competitive run, a lucky draw will be held at the end of the run. Three participants whose numbers are called will walk away with 42-inch TV, a video camera and a home entertainment set in the order the number is called, respectively. Registration Details: Registration is now open. As health and safety is a concern, participants below 21 years old will need to obtain parental or guardian consent. The indemnity form can be downloaded from Safari Zoo Run website below. Registration fee for adult (13 years and above) is at S$38 and for child (3-12 years) is S$18. The entry pack will come with an exclusive Safari Zoo Run number tag, exclusive Singapore Zoo polo T-shirt, goody bag with sponsored items, free 3 years PAssion membership card and 50% discount on admission fee to the park on same day visit for friends and family of participants*, and many more.

For more information on rules and regulations, prospective participants can log on to http://www.safarizoorun.com.sg

140 year old lobster freed by restaurant

NEW YORK – A 140-year-old lobster once destined for a dinner plate received the gift of life Friday from a Park Avenue seafood restaurant.

George, the 20-pound supercentenarian crustacean, was freed by City Crab and Seafood in New York City.

"We applaud the folks at City Crab and Seafood for their compassionate decision to allow this noble old-timer to live out his days in freedom and peace," said Ingrid E. Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

PETA spokesman Michael McGraw said the group asked City Crab to return George to the Atlantic Ocean after a diner saw him at the restaurant, where steamed Maine lobster sells for $27 per pound. George had been caught off Newfoundland, Canada and lived in the tank for about 10 days before his release.

Some scientists estimate lobsters can live to be more than 100 years old. PETA and the restaurant guessed George's age at about 140, using a rule of thumb based on the creature's weight.

He was to be released Saturday near Kennebunkport, Maine, in an area where lobster trapping is forbidden.

More Gifts from China dies in Hong Kong

One of Hong Kong's famed attractions, Ocean Park, is battling a public relations nightmare. Over the weekend, it announced that a rare sturgeon from mainland China had died in its care – the third reported death in six months.

Experts said the rare fish suffered from a head injury and blood clotting.

Ocean Park has been transitioning the sturgeons from freshwater to saltwater, and initial investigations showed that it was possible the fish might not have adapted well.

Just three weeks earlier, a sturgeon had died from an infection and yet another died in June after being bitten by a barracuda.

The fish were a gift from mainland China to mark the Olympics and their deaths are seen as a diplomatic embarrassment for Hong Kong. To make matters worse, two of the remaining seven sturgeons are sick.

The sturgeons are deemed as one of China's national treasures and are often referred to as "living fossils".

The popular sturgeon aquarium in Ocean Park has been closed indefinitely. The park has also been grappling with bad press from two other animal capers in which a panda and a sea lion had attacked staff members.

A video has been posted on YouTube showing the aftermath of a panda attack on a keeper in November. The panda, whose name ironically translates to 'peace', bit his female keeper in the leg and she had to be hospitalised.

A few weeks later, a sea lion also bit a trainer in the arm during a public feeding demonstration.

This latest string of animal mishaps has been a public relations disaster for Ocean Park.

Board members have called for an investigation into whether or not there are any management or operational problems behind the incidents. - AP