‘Not just a city in nature’: ACRES Wildlife Sanctuary opens, includes spaces for rehab and education, Singapore News

The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) opened its wildlife sanctuary last Saturday (Oct 17) on Jalan Lekar in Sungei Tengah.

The opening belonged to its World Animal Day 2026 events, and was participated in by Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan, marking a turning point in Acres’ 25 years of wildlife rescue, rehab and preservation.

Together with the sanctuary is the freshly revamped ACRES Education Centre, which provides improved areas for Acres to inform the general public on concerns relating to wildlife and preservation.

Speaking at the occasion, MOS Tan discussed that the sanctuary is a location for animals to live, restore and get care while doing so.

Describing his associates from NParks, MOS Tan stated: “We work very closely with the animal welfare groups… to ensure that Singapore is not just a city nature, but also a place in which animals can thrive.”

He likewise highlighted an increasing pattern of human-wildlife dispute and Acres’ essential function in informing the general public on how to respond when they experience wildlife, pointing out events where Acres was associated with calls referring to pythons in his constituency, Tanjong Pagar GRC.

“I thank every single one of you… for putting your heart, mind and soul into this,” MOS Tan stated to ACRES. “Let’s continue to support it.”

‘Devastating problem’

ACRES ceo Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan likewise shared the history surrounding the wildlife sanctuary, and the problem Acres needed to go through to get to this point.

Creator Louis Ng had actually tried to establish a comparable 2 ha sanctuary for saved animals, with centers for personnel and volunteers, in addition to an education centre.

While he handled to raise funds to get the land needed, things began going awry, Kalai Vanan stated.

“There was a devastating setback. The contractors’ actions contaminated the land.

“Things may have appeared great on the surface area, the soil underground was contaminated, and out of these 2 ha, just 0.5 ha stayed functional to us,” he recalled.

Although it pursued legal action and was awarded $26.5 million, the contractor was declared bankrupt and left for China, while his wife restarted another company in Singapore, he claimed.

“We recuperated absolutely nothing,” Kalai Vanan stated. “I remember we invested a couple of years attempting to pursue justice, however we could not.”

ACRES then moved forward from the setback, focusing on getting the land back into use with the limited resources it had.

Kalai Vanan also stressed the importance of the education centre, describing it as the “heart beat of ACRES”.

By providing visitors an understanding of the issues animals face, ACRES can “motivate individuals to think of their daily options” pertaining to animals, he stated.

The sanctuary and the education centre therefore work in tandem to provide better care for animals while helping more people understand how to prevent suffering in the first place, Kalai Vanan added.

“This year, we’re currently on track to have the most variety of rescue calls ever, and the next stages of the wildlife sanctuary will require resources to make that a truth.

“We really need more people to stand with us… As we open these spaces today, we are fulfilling a promise that people have worked for years to keep – to give the animals who depend on us for better future.”

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