Piranhas at River Safari exhibit placed under maximum security

Shouldn't all animals be protected? Well, its the Piranhas people are concerned. The risk of them escaping into our local habitat, reservoirs will damage our eco-surroundings.

Their tanks are padlocked, they are microchipped and, should they breed, their eggs are destroyed.

These are the living conditions of the most highly guarded creatures at the River Safari - the red-bellied piranhas.

The security measures are befitting of their fearsome image, thanks to their portrayal as ferocious man-eaters in movies like Piranhas 3D.

But River Safari's curator Wah Yap Hon would have you know that there is little truth in that.

Polar Bear Inuka moves into new Frozen Tundra Exhibit

AS THE first polar bear born in the tropics, Inuka has never experienced life on the frozen Arctic tundra.

Yet the 570kg furry giant's new home is perhaps the next best thing.

The $8 million Singapore Zoo enclosure is about the size of 2 1/2 basketball courts - four times bigger than the previous one.

And it is modelled on the natural environment of the Arctic, with a large pool, waterfall and an ice cave where the 22-year-old bear can rest. Called Frozen Tundra, the 2,700 sq m exhibit also includes two separate sections housing raccoon dogs and wolverines, both of which are native to sub-Arctic environments.

Inuka moved in on Wednesday.

The zoo came up with the idea of creating a new habitat in 2006. It was designed to give the Singapore-born bear - whose mother, Sheba, died last November - more space to move around, while offering the public a glimpse of the Arctic world.

"In the past, visitors wanted the animals as close to them as possible," said Wildlife Reserves Singapore director of exhibit design Cham Tud Yinn. "But as they become more educated, they appreciate the fact that animals need privacy and space."

He added that visitors may not be able to get quite as close to Inuka as they would like. However, the exhibit has more glass panels through which to view the spectacular creature.

Native to the Arctic Circle, polar bears are the world's largest land carnivores. Adult males can weigh up to 700kg. But global warming has pushed back the sea ice, shrinking their hunting grounds and cutting off their sources of food.

If global temperatures continue to rise, polar bears may become extinct within a hundred years.

The Frozen Tundra is open every day from 8.30am to 6pm.

Inuka was adopted at birth in 1990 by the SPH Foundation, the charitable arm of Straits Times' parent company Singapore Press Holdings. Its chairman, Dr Lee Boon Yang, was the guest of honour at a ceremony yesterday to mark the foundation's decision to adopt the Amazon Flooded Forest at the River Safari. This means it will sponsor the exhibit by making a donation to zoo owner Wildlife Reserves Singapore every year.

"SPH Foundation has been a long-time partner of Wildlife Reserves Singapore in supporting wildlife conservation," said Dr Lee. He added that it also sponsors the High Flyers Show at Jurong Bird Park and a conservation centre housing proboscis monkeys at the zoo.

Zoo gets a new baby Polar Bear

It may have been the most anticipated package ever delivered to the Buffalo Zoo: an orphaned polar bear cub that arrived 15 May 2013 from Alaska and will spend the summer with another cub born six months ago.

Kali arrived aboard a UPS flight at Buffalo Niagara International Airport shortly before 5:30 a.m., ending a 14-hour trip that was set in motion in March when a hunter in Alaska realized an adult female bear he'd killed was nursing.

"He followed the tracks back to the den, crawled down inside, found a cub, pulled it out, put it in his coveralls, rode it back into Point Lay and then got hold of U.S. Fish and Wildlife," said Patrick Lampi, executive director of the Alaska Zoo, which has cared for the bear since.

Subsistence hunting is allowed in the area, but hunters aren't allowed to shoot females with cubs, Lampi said after accompanying the cub to Buffalo.

Called Kali after the Inupiat name for Point Lay, the male cub now weighs 65 pounds and is estimated to be just less than 5 months old. It would have been unable to care for itself in the wild, experts said. Young polar bears stay with their mothers for about 2 years.

In Buffalo, it will slowly be introduced to Luna, a female polar bear born Nov. 27 that has become a visitor favorite and the face of an $18 million fundraising campaign for a planned Arctic exhibit and new zoo entrance. Experts said both cubs will benefit from interacting with each other rather than only human caretakers.

A few hours after Kali's arrival, the cubs were in adjacent dens, able to smell and hear each other but prevented by a solid barrier from visual and physical contact. The next step will be to replace the barrier with mesh.

"Then they can have some limited physical contact, visual contact," zoo president Donna Fernandes said. "If that goes well and they're spending lots of time near each other by the mesh barrier and showing interest, then we can gradually open it up a little bit, give them room for a paw to go through.

"If they're not swiping at each other and it looks good, we'll open the door a little bit more, a little bit more, until they get a full physical introduction," Fernandes said at a press conference as Luna, behind a glass partition, dove over and over into a pond, pounced on a toy ark and ball, and wrestled with shrubbery.

"When you have adult animals, it can be more problematic," Fernandes said, "but I don't think we'll have a problem with these young guys. I think they'll be very excited to have a playmate."

Kali, expected to stay in Buffalo six months, made the 4,400-mile trip in a stainless steel crate, tended to by handlers given Federal Aviation Administration clearance to be on the cargo deck, UPS Capt. Jon Burrows said.

The logistics were hammered out over about 225 emails, Lampi said.

"Knowing he's coming here to be with another cub, that's just perfect," he said. "You just can't substitute being with a same species 24/7 so it'll be great for both of them."

The Buffalo Zoo hopes Kali will be a permanent resident, but the decision will be up to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Check out for Great Deals for River Safari packages

River Safari Adventure: $31.80 for Admission to Asia’s First & Only River-Themed Wildlife Park, River Safari + River Cruise Along Singapore River (Child Rate Available)

http://www.deal.com.sg/deals/singapore/river-safari-adventure-3180-admission-asia-s-first-only-river-themed-wildlife-park-r

 Redemption Period of DEAL Voucher: till 30 May 2013
Admission tickets expire on 30 Jun 2013

Vesak Day warnings, No releasing of animals.

The National Parks Board (NParks) said there have not been any cases of animals being released at reservoir parks and nature reserves in the past two years.

NParks is reminding the public not to release animals into the wild this Vesak Day, which falls on 24 May.
NParks' director of conservation, Wong Tuan Wah, said: "We will continue to reach out to the community and appeal to the public not to release animals into the wild. Most of these animals are kept as household pets, and many die shortly after their release as they are unable to adapt to the new surroundings."

NParks is running its annual campaign “Operation No Release”, held around Vesak Day to spread awareness of the dangers related to animal release.

It is working with volunteers to keep a lookout for any signs of animal release and conduct nature walks for the public.

Besides introducing the flora and fauna in the nature reserves to the participants, volunteer guides will also explain how animal release will impact the biodiversity and ecology of the nature reserves.

Singapore raised to observer status on Arctic Council

Arctic states today (May 15) agreed to let nations that are located nowhere near the Earth’s north to become observers to their diplomatic council, boosting rising superpowers China, India and South Korea that are seeking to mine the region for its untapped energy and other natural resources.

The European Union also was tentatively granted observer status to the eight-state council but must first address several questions about its bid, including concerns about its ban on Canadian seal exports.

It was an odd but not entirely unexpected move by the long-obscure Arctic Council, which traditionally has served as a watchdog for the rights of the region’s indigenous people and protector of its fragile ecosystem.

Widespread thawing of Arctic ice, which keeps the rest of the world cooler, has alarmed environmentalists but has become an economic lure to nations seeking to ship cargo across once-frozen seas. The global warming is making the Arctic’s elusive supply of oil, gas, minerals and precious metals available — in some areas, for the first time ever - as ever-expanding counties like China and India hunt for additional energy supplies.

Officials estimate the Arctic holds 13 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil reserves, and 30 per cent of undiscovered gas deposits.

Ministers suggested the inclusion of the energy-hungry nations at the Arctic Council will force them to uphold the diplomatic panel’s core goals of safeguarding the region.

“There is no such thing as a free lunch,” said Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. “By becoming an observer you’re also signing up to the principles embodied by this organization, and that is why we have been working hard to make that happen.”

In all, six nations - China, India, Italy, Japan, Korea and Singapore - were granted observer status to the council, joining several previously-accepted counties from Europe. The eight states that are permanent members of the non-binding panel all touch the Arctic Circle, including the United States, through Alaska. Denmark is connected to the Arctic Circle through its relationship with Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous territory.

Canada’s minister to the council, Leona Aglukkaq, voiced mild but restrained discomfort with the new observers to the council, which she said was created “by northerners, for northerners, before the Arctic was of interest to the rest of the world.” Canada will chair of the council for the next two years.

The ministers’ short meeting, which is held only every two years, also attracted a scattering of protesters form the environmental group Greenpeace, who held banners outside Kiruna’s small city hall urging “No Arctic oil.” A hulking black mountain, from which iron ore is mined, served as the backdrop for the meeting in the small Arctic town where snow had melted to slush.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, sporting a blue suit coat amid the ski sweaters and tribal costumes at the meeting, said the world must crack down on polluting emissions that endanger the Arctic. He said the U.S. and China are two of the globe’s largest contributors to emissions.

“No one nation can solve this,” Kerry said. “No one is doing enough. The problem is that everything we do, or everything that another nation does, is going to be wiped out by China or another nation if they continue with coal-fired power at the rate we are seeing. So the warning signals are there.”

Singapore has interest in the Arctic region

SINGAPORE'S application for permanent observer status in the Arctic Council might seem like an obscure pitch for a country lying just a smear north of the Equator.

But the Republic's interest in the icy northern region ranges from the risk of rising sea levels caused by melting polar ice to the possibility that its port might be bypassed should the Northern Sea Route running through the Arctic coast take off in a big way.

The council comprises eight Arctic states, including Canada, Russia and the United States.

Tomorrow's Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting, which takes place once every two years and will open in Kiruna in northern Sweden, is expected to decide on the applications. Singapore's special envoy for Arctic Affairs Kemal Siddique is in Sweden.

Singapore applied for permanent observer status, which is likely to allow a country to attend council meetings and take part in working groups, in December 2011. Others that have applied for similar status include China, the European Union, India, Japan, Italy and South Korea.

While Singapore has no territorial or resource claims, it does have various economic and political interests in the Arctic. As a major international port, it takes a keen interest in maritime affairs.

The emergence of new sea routes would reduce the distance between the North Atlantic and the North Pacific, causing shifts in shipping patterns a few months every year. The implications of these shifts could have far-reaching consequences for Singapore's economic viability and existence.

Rising sea levels caused by melting polar ice could threaten Singapore. Moreover, the island is on the migratory pathway of some Arctic species and the effects of climate change on Arctic flora and fauna would affect those here.

Singapore hopes to contribute its shipping-related expertise in areas such as oil spill prevention and maritime traffic management to the Arctic Council.

Bindi Irwins Animal Adventure at the Singapore Zoo

Date: Saturday, 13 April 2013
Venue: Singapore Zoological Gardens, 80 Mandai Lake Rd, 729826
Time: 8:00am - 12:30pm

Bindi Irwin is visiting Singapore and she wants to meet you at the zoo!
Joined in Singapore by her mum Terri and younger brother Robert, Bindi will share about her favourite animals and passion for wildlife conservation. Activities at the event will include:

- Mini Bootcamp Challenge

- Show and tell featuring Bindi’s favourite animals

- Exclusive meet and greet with Bindi*

Home to more than 300 species of animals, the Singapore Zoo provides the perfect backdrop for you to meet the Bindi, the wildlife warrior who grew up in the Australia Zoo owned by her parents – the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, and his wife Terri.
We’ve got eight sets of tickets up for grabs so what are you waiting for? If you're mad about animals, you'll definitely love what we have in store! Fill up the form below** for a fun-filled animal weekend with the Irwins now!

Singapore Zoo wins service excellence award

Singapore Zoo has received the Singapore Service Excellence Medallion, a top honour that marks its superior guest satisfaction and organisational service excellence.

The award recognises outstanding achievements by organizations and individuals in inspiring and sustaining a culture of service excellence in Singapore.

The award ceremony was held in the presence of guest-of-honour Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore and Minister of Finance.

Mr Lee Meng Tat, CEO, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, said: “Singapore Zoo turns 40 this year – and receiving the Singapore Service Excellence Medallion is a tribute to all the staff who have served in the Singapore Zoo and who made this wildlife attraction a national icon and internationally recognized brand.”

The accolade is organized by agencies of the national GEMS Up movement (Go Extra Mile For Service). GEMS Up Movement is represented by five agencies – SPRING Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Workforce Development Agency, National Trades Union Congress and the Institute of Service Excellence at Singapore Management University.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore's newest addition, River Safari opens

The $160 million river-themed wildlife park, River Safari - home to Pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia - opened on Wednesday morning

Waiting for the gates to open were groups of kindergarten and primary school children, tourists, as well as Singaporeans who took a day off work for the occasion.

One such person was Mr Albert Foo, 66, who arrived around 8.30am for the opening ceremony and was one of the first in line to enter. "I've always liked animals and plants," he said. He took a day's leave from his job as a hotel front desk assistant and woke up at 5.30am to make it in time to see the gates open.

The River Safari is the newest addition to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore's portfolio of parks, which includes the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and Jurong Bird Park. The 12ha park houses one of the world's largest collection of freshwater animals. It opens daily from 9am to 6pm.

Singapore River Safari

Check out the River Safari's main attractions ahead of its opening on 3rd April. The S$160m, 12-hectare complex lies right between the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari, and is the first of its kind in Asia.

Tickets are priced at S$35 for adults, S$23 for children aged 3-12 and S$17.50 for senior citizens above 60. With some attractions yet to be complete, daily admission during this soft opening phase will cost S$25, S$16 and S$12.50 for the respective categories.

Time to spend some $$$.

Musical ZOO

Yogyakarta experimental rock band ZOO kick off their regional tour in Singapore with their singular blend of math rock, noise, tribal and reconfigured traditional music. Their live performances are intense, charismatic and wild. This is a band to be experienced in the flesh.
with AWK WAH (Shark Fung)
and CACTUS (Jordan & Marina)

21 Mar 2013 (Thu)
Night & Day, 139 Selegie Road
8pm
$15 (includes 1 drink)

Presented by Ujikaji and the Independent Archive & Resource Center

Venue hosted by Night & Day

ZOO:
The band was formed in 2005 after a year of building the concept. In the first EP Kebun Binatang (2007), Zoo was still playing fast, mathematic, and noisy music as often seen in Boredoms, Ruins, Melt Banana, or Hella. But in their first full album, Trilogi Peradaban (2009), elements of ethnic music was introduced, and then in their latest release, Prasasti (2012), Zoo’s music has now progressed toward significant direction; ethnic and tribal elements are no longer elements but has becoming an integral part of Zoo as a band and therefore creating a new undefined music. All these contrast crossovers of many different influences are there in order to align the music with theme that they try to put forward.

The theme behind every lyrics are all about modern civilization, human ambition of immortality, deterioration of cultural roots and some theme that encourage optimism.

PERSONNEL

RULLY SHABARA– VOKAL, DJEMBE, REBANA, SYNTH
BHAKTI PRASETYO– BASS
RAMBERTO AGOZALIE– DRUMS
DIMAS BUDI SATYA– DRUMS, CUSTOM PERCUSSION

CACTUS:

Cactus is the brainchild of producer-composer and multi-instrumentalist Jordan Johari Rais (b. 1978) and his wife, vocalist and bass and percussion player Marina Abu Hassan (b. 1982).

Cactus was born on the slopes of tea plantation in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia in April 2011 when the duo decided to interpret the colours, sights and sounds of the nature and life around them then into a creative product they can call their own.

They play an eclectic mix of analog and digital sounds wrapped in traditional harmonies and percussive beats, this time accompanied by two other musicians Matt Raham on drums and Maggot Isa on bass. Also joining them in full spirit and physical prowess inspiration yada yada, “Django”, the unborn child to mother Marina and Jordan.

AWK WAH:

Shark from Engineered Beautiful Blood, Amino Acid Orchestra and I\D started this solo project which resulted in the cult favourite Opera Box (2010), blowing our minds with its rhythmic noise and harsh miasmic darkness. When he reappeared at the inaugural Earthbound gig in 2012 unveiling a new set up of drums, effects, synth and sampler and creating a schizo mix of dirty noise and hypnotic beats, practically inventing a new genre that we like to call “distraught techno”. Awk Wah releases his second album on LP and download with Ujikaji in the middle of the year.

Manatees in Singapore Zoo relocate to new home

Singapore Zoo staff members move a 400 kg, 33-year-old male manatee during the move to its new enclosure at the River Safari in Singapore, March 13, 2013. Singapore Zoo relocated the manatees to a new enclosure "Amazon Flooded Forest" at the River Safari.

Singapore Zoo staff members transfer oxygen to an 8-year-old female manatee during the move to its new enclosure at the River Safari in Singapore, March 13, 2013. Singapore Zoo relocated the manatees to a new enclosure "Amazon Flooded Forest" at the River Safari.

New enclosure for them.

Singapore Zoo turns 40

Singapore Zoo celebrates its 40th birthday this year with a series of events. The zoo is looking for people who were born on the day the zoo began operations on 27 June 1973.

These people will be invited for a special Singapore Zoo Birthday Bash and be taken on an exclusive tour with a zoo pioneer.

The zoo is also giving a 40 per cent discount on its admission ticket prices for Singaporeans and permanent residents who turn 40 this year. But these individuals must visit with four other friends during the birthday month. The discount is valid from now till the end of the year.

The zoo is also organizing a 40th Birthday Bash Zoo Hunt on 16 and 17 March.

Singapore Zoo 40th Birthday Promotion

Celebrate with us! Enjoy 40% off admission ticket prices when you celebrate your 40th with us. From 1 March until 31 December 2013, Singaporeans and Permanent Residents born in 1973 can enjoy 40% off admission ticket prices for themselves and four other friends when they visit during their birthday month.

Terms & Conditions

    Promotion is valid from 1 Mar – 31 Dec 2013.
    Present original IC or passport to enjoy offer.
    Maximum purchase of 5 discounted tickets per identity card/passport, per transaction.
    Promotion is only valid for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents.
    Promotion is only valid for tickets bought over the ticketing counters at Singapore Zoo.
    Offer applies to admission on day of ticket purchase.
    Offer is not valid with any other promotions, discounts or online ticket purchase.
    Admission ticket purchased is not refundable or exchangeable for cash or kind.
    No claims will be entertained for any lost, torn, defaced or expired ticket.

Safari Zoo Run 2013

An 8,000 strong crowd took a run on the wild side when they took part in the Safari Zoo Run 2013, held on the first weekend of the Year of the Snake.

Participants got to run amidst the lush greenery of the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari as wild creatures watched. The race was flagged off Guest-of-Honour Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Member of Parliament, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) along with Mr Lee Meng Tat, CEO, Wildlife Reserves Singapore and Ms Isabel Cheng, Chief Marketing Officer, Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

Participants also took part in snake-tivities after the run, such as visiting a snake-themed educational booth, viewing an auspicious snake showcase at Singapore Zoo’s Rainforest Walk, and engaging in hand painting activities.

Many participants also visited the Reptile Garden and where over 20 species of snakes were on display. Now in its fifth year, Safari Zoo Run was conceptualised in memory of orang utan Ah Meng, one of Singapore’s most adored animal personalities.

The objectives of Safari Zoo Run are to encourage family bonding and promote healthy lifestyle amongst Singaporeans. The run also aids in wildlife conservation, with S$100,000 from the run going towards the care of endangered animals in Night Safari and Singapore Zoo, as well as the adoption of orang utan Ah Meng Junior.

OF ZOOS

OF ZOOS is an electronic literary journal by Singaporeans for Singaporeans, and everyone else. We publish poetry and its sub-branches.

Description
OF ZOOS believes that the poem is created out of a regular grammar of lines, rhyme and rhythm as much as it is created from holes cut out in books or newspaper clippings patched together. By the phrase “poetry and its sub-branches”, we mean (or try to mean) poems (from the sonnet to the haiku to the cento), flash fiction pretending to be prose poems, flash fiction that are prose poems (who can tell the difference anyway), illustrated poems, mixed media forms disguised as poems, a photograph of your dog etc. The only thing we do not allow are plagiarized poems.

Since we are pretty much embryonic at this stage, the journal’s final appearance will be dictated by you, our readers and contributors, and by the discerning eye of our editors.

OF ZOOS loves literature and art; invention and tradition; artificiality and verisimilitude; outrageousness and subtlety; tenderness and the sublime. We adore paradox, the courageous metaphor, experimental voices, and most of all, we love the fact that we love to write and read. We encourage Singaporean sensibilities not limited to Singapore, if that makes any sense. We especially encourage young, new, unpublished, ‘in the closet’ Singaporean writers. We welcome non-Singaporeans.
   
http://ofzoos.tk

Zoo Poems

http://www.scrapbook.com/poems/cat/110.html

Zoo is fun
Author: Khushi

I went to the zoo with a map,to have some clue about the zoo.
It was fun at the zoo to see the animals and birds too.
First I saw a tall neck giraffe,
Bleat,
Bleat,
Bleat.
I thought it wants to
eat,
eat ,
eat.
Next I saw a monkey hanging on tree,
scratch ,
scratch ,
scratch,
as if it had patch on its back.
It was fun at the zoo to see the animals and birds too.
In the end I saw a grey elephant ,with a bee on its wrinkled knee.
Oh! it was really fun,
fun,
fun at the zoo.

Blackbucks' death in Kota zoo due to contaminated fodder

The death of 16 blackbucks at Kota zoo on the night of December 19 could be due to contaminated fodder given to them. The test reports received from Bareilly-based Indian Veterinary Research Institute suggest that the fodder provided by the zoo authorities to these protected animals had excessive quantity of nitrates and nitrites. This excessive quantity could be due to uncontrolled use of chemicals in its farming.

According to forest officials, similar deaths of blackbucks were reported in various zoos in Agra, Lucknow and Kanpur and the reason too could be the same.

The Dolphins are ready to perform

The dolphins at Resorts World Sentosa's Marine Life Park have been released from quarantine, and members of the public can soon view them.

The park said the 24 dolphins have received the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore's (AVA) approval for their release.

It added the mammals have adjusted well to their new home through the care of its staff and veterinary professionals.

The park looks forward to introducing the dolphins to the public in progressive stages.

It also gave updates on the laboratory tests on the male dolphin that died on the flight to Singapore from the Philippines.

The final pathology report indicated that Wen Wen had succumbed to an acute bacterial infection.

There was, however, no evidence on the origins of the infection.

Medical examinations prior to the transport indicated that all animals were healthy prior to the move.

The park believes the infection was an isolated incident.

Recently, the park attracted controversy for its import of dolphins

Dismembered cat found outside Chong Pang flat

Two kittens were found dismembered outside a Chong Pang flat last Sunday in a gruesome case of animal abuse.
Noting that how a society is judged can be seen from the way animals are treated, Foreign Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam urged residents to come forward and help identify those responsible for the act.
The police are on the case, he said in his Facebook post Wednesday.
The Cat Welfare Society (CWS) posted pictures on its Facebook page of two kittens who were chopped up and left outside their owner’s flat.

While it’s not clear who dismembered the kittens, CWS said the owner of the cats had “chronically abandoned and let her pet cats roam” around Yishun.

It added the owner had been “red-flagged” previously for abandoning the cats, though there was “never enough evidence to tie the abandonment” to the household. Caregivers had been working with the CWS to provide sterilisation and re-home the kittens.

The CWS describes the gruesome case as “obviously a message to the cat owner sent by the abuser”.
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' (SPCA), Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) and the police have been notified.
police spokeman told Yahoo! that they received a call on 30th December at about 10.30pm requesting for assistance at a unit at 115b Yishun Ring road.

Upon their arrival, the carcasses of two cats were found at the said location. Investigations are underway.

The case has sparked the fury of netizens.

CWS' Facebook post on Monday has attracted over 700 comments to date, most of them condemning the brutal act.

Facebook user Lina Lee wrote, "No animals should be treated this way. It's pure brutality and blood sick."

Another user Kim Chua urged for stiffer punishment for animal abusers.

"I urge our government to strongly impose heavier sentences on animal abusers. Few months of imprisonment and fines won't work on sicko [sick] people," he wrote.