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ACRES: Updates from the Field

Updates from ACRES (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society) , a story Our Better World has told in 2021.
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By Anbarasi Boopal, Co-CEO of ACRES

Anbarasi Boopal is the Co-CEO of ACRES (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society). Founded in 2001, ACRES is a non-profit animal protection organisation in Singapore that is dedicated to nurturing a society that is compassionate towards wildlife by spreading awareness and education, as well as rescuing threatened wildlife.

​In 2021, our wildlife management team handled over 1,000 cases related to human-wildlife conflict. While we did see an increase in the human-macaque interaction situations, this was expected, and we were prepared with awareness material. For all our wildlife etiquette educational programmes and emails, we have been attaching this video link in our email signature for educational purposes to the feedback providers.

The release of the Our Better World story has also encouraged us to publish a series of short videos focused on other common urban wildlife to share coexistence tips. We are also excited to conduct the "train the trainers" programme for the OBS (Outward Bound Singapore) instructors that will greatly help percolate the message to the younger generation during outdoor activities. 

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Photo credit: Tracy Ang, Outward Bound Singapore

In 2022, we hope to publish our e-book on coexistence with wildlife in our City in Nature, for various stakeholders to empower more individuals with tips to coexist. 

With increasing habitat fragmentation and resulting park connectors that are going to be shared by humans and animals, we are in desperate need for more outreach to every single person residing in Singapore. We hope that coexistence and wildlife etiquette becomes part of the educational curriculum. We hope that more individuals will learn and practice wildlife etiquette, making Singapore a pleasant space for both nature and humans. ​