F.A.Q

ACRES was founded in 2001 by a group of Singaporeans and registered as a society on the 24th of May 2001(Registration No.: 0176/2001).

Yes. ACRES is registered under the Charities Act and registered as an Institution of Public Character(Registration No.: IPC000559).

ACRES is a Singapore-based charity, founded by Singaporeans. Our work is concentrated in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Yes, you can call the ACRES Wildlife Rescue Hotline at 97837782 (manned from 7am to 1am daily) if you find a native wild animal or abandoned exotic wild animal in need of help. If you know of anyone keeping prohibited wild animals as pets or of any shops or traders illegally selling wild animals or wild animal parts, kindly email us at crime@acres.org.sg.

Periodically, as a charity organization, we encounter significant constraints in terms of both manpower and capacity. As a charity with a solitary full-time veterinarian, there are instances where we may recommend contacting NParks under the subsequent circumstances:

• Swift response to the animal’s situation is unfeasible due to concurrent ongoing cases or emergency personnel and vehicle exigencies.
• Our veterinarian may be on scheduled leave or a day off.
• Our wards for the recuperation of injured wildlife could be operating at full capacity at that point of time.
• Our capacity for non-native reptiles is at the maximum. Capacity here refers to not only the space, but also the manpower resources and the infrastructure needed to provide optimal care to the rescued animal/s.

No. Our focus is on wildlife issues and on industrialised animal cruelty issues – i.e. animal abuse that happens on a large scale, often ‘behind the scenes’. There are several other organisations in Singapore working on companion animal issues such as SPCA who also runs a 24-hour animal rescue service (6287 5355 extn 9) for companion animals. Therefore, ACRES concentrates our efforts on other animal welfare topics.

We operate a fleet comprising a sole rescue van, alongside a supplementary motorbike that complements our round-the-clock wildlife rescue services. With an average caseload of three per hour, regrettably, we may find ourselves unable to promptly attend to the animal you have rescued. However, for select species capable of being safely handled or contained by the general public, we may, following an evaluation of the animal’s condition via our hotline WhatsApp, kindly request your assistance in transporting the animal to our facility. Comprehensive instructions will be provided to facilitate this process.

By availing your support in such cases, our on-site caregivers can promptly provide care to the animal upon arrival. Moreover, your cooperation significantly mitigates the transport stress from unnecessary transit within our rescue vehicle while our team addresses other concurrent cases.

You may have found a Indian ring-necked or a red-breasted or a monk parakeet, or a coconut lorikeet or a sulphur-crested cockatoo. These species are introduced in to Singapore’s wild spaces, from the legal pet bird trade, either as escapees or abandoned birds who have managed to establish a population. It’s important to note that, unfortunately, we are unable to extend our rescue efforts to these particular species due to local regulations that restrict their release into the wild or rehoming. It is because it is impossible to house all of these birds at our sanctuary after recovery, we do not take them in.

Instead, we kindly urge you to reach out to NParks at: 1800 476 1600.

Red-eared sliders (RES) are classified as non-native species and have subsequently transitioned into an invasive presence within Singapore. Due to this ecological status, regulatory authorities prohibit the release of Red-eared sliders into Singapore’s natural habitats. Consequently, ACRES has taken the strategic decision to permanently suspend taking in Red-eared sliders.

This decision was taken for two reasons: (1) ACRES frequently receives appeals for the rehoming of Red-eared sliders from their owners, at our sanctuary. This is merely impossible with our space and the volume of red-eared sliders who are given up by their owners. (2) The widespread import, sale and keeping of this species in Singapore, is not regulated. While our rescue team optimises resources to help the distressed wild animals in the wild, our advocacy team works on raising awareness on this issue, and address the root cause by appealing to end the import and sale of this species in Singapore.

Below are some considerations for you:

• If you have found a lost RES, you may use social media platforms as a means to facilitate their rehoming.
• In cases where an injured Red-eared slider is encountered, individuals are encouraged to promptly seek the assistance of a qualified veterinarian for potential treatment.

You can also call the government agency, National Parks Board (NParks) at its 24-hour animal response centre, at 1800 476 1600, for assistance.

ACRES does not and will never euthanise a healthy animal, for whatever the reason may be. Quality of life plays an important role in making this difficult decision. For rescued wildlife, euthanasia is considered

• when their injuries or the illness cannot be treated;
• For native wildlife, when the animal cannot be released into the wild (even if kept alive) for various reasons including poor quality of life (for example, unable to feed/defecate/move on his or her own)

These wild animals cannot be legally kept as pets, so ACRES is unable to adopt/rehome them either.

You can help in many ways: By volunteering with us, spreading the word about our work, supporting our events and contributing financially. You can find more about our volunteer opportunities on our Volunteer pages and our events are listed on our Events page.

Making a monthly donation is one of the best ways to help ACRES, as your regular gift allows us to plan, maintain and increase our long-term projects with confidence, safe in the knowledge that the funds will be there in the future.

You can sign up for our monthly e-newsletter here.

You can also follow us on Facebook or Instagram to keep a look out for our periodic work updates.

The majority of the funds we raise go directly to the animals. For the financial year 2009/10, at least 91% of funds raised went directly to our animal protection programmes. We try to keep our running costs to a minimum. Our accounts are independently audited by Certified Public Accountants and can be found in our Annual Report page.

Yes! ACRES has the Institute of Public Character (IPC) status. This means that donations to ACRES qualify for 250% tax deduction. For example, if you donate $100 to ACRES, $250 will be deducted from your taxable income.

For more on donations click here.

ACRES, with a focus on wildlife rescue and advocacy, does not extend its rescue efforts to companion animals, which includes pet bird species such as red-breasted parakeets, Indian ring-necked parakeets, lovebirds, budgies, and others.

If you happen upon such a bird, kindly consider the following recommendations:

• You can use these tips to potentially reunite the lost bird with his/her owner. While doing so, ensure to safeguard the bird’s tag number (if applicable) discreetly. Subsequently, it is at the discretion of the potential owner to share the tag number with you for verification purposes.
• Utilize the following Facebook pages to post the pertinent details for tracking and locating the owner: Lost and Found Birds SG (https://www.facebook.com/groups/349113045257552/) and Parrot Alert SG (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ParrotAlert.Singapore/).
• Exercise caution and refrain from surrendering the bird to anyone who claims the ability to provide care for the animal.
• Should you require assistance with taking the bird in, kindly reach out to NParks at 1800 476 1600.