Officers from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) were alerted on their 24-hour wildlife rescue hotline after a female resident at Yishun hung a mynah on a laundry pole stand outside her flat to teach the bird a lesson for entering her kitchen.
While describing the incident, in a Facebook post Acres added a video which showed that the mynah dangling upside down by one of its legs which was tied with a string. As of now, the 18-second footage has received over 39000 views and more than 100 shares on Facebook.
Rescue mission by Acres
The animal welfare group said the rescue officers were shocked to learn from the unit's resident that the bird was "deliberately hung from the pole to teach it - and other mynahs - a lesson so that it can learn not to enter her kitchen," and added that the bird "was assessed for injuries and given some water and food before being released." In the post, Acres officials wrote that "The resident was informed that this is an act of cruelty and the rescue officers advised other ways to deter birds who are drawn to exposed food."
A spokesperson from Acres told The New Paper that since the acts of cruelty to animals are punishable by law, "residents should never take matters into their own hands and dangling a bird from a string was clearly an act of cruelty." He also added that these birds often die from stress but thankfully this time, someone called on time to get help.
Animal cruelty
Jessica Kwok from the animal and veterinary service at the National Parks Board (NParks) said that all feedback received from the public on animal cruelty is taken very seriously. In terms of first-time offenders, if they caught while abusing an animal, they may face charges nder the Animals and Birds Act and could be fined up to $15,000, jailed up to 18 months, or both.
