Five albino red-eared slider terrapins rescued from Singapore's West Coast Park
Five albino red-eared slider terrapins were rescued from West Coast Park in Singapore after being abandoned. ACRES, the wildlife rescue group, warned that releasing non-native pets into the wild is illegal and harmful to the animals.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the ongoing issue of pet abandonment and the ecological risks posed by releasing non-native species into urban environments.
SINGAPORE: Five albino red-eared sliders – a freshwater species commonly sold as pets – were rescued from rocks on the coast of West Coast Park on Sept 27.
The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) was alerted to the terrapins through its wildlife rescue hotline at about 11am on the same day, it said in a media reply on Oct 3.
Photos show the terrapins perched on rocks near the water.
“We were particularly concerned about their exposure to salt water, which can cause severe dehydration and death,” said ACRES, noting that red-eared sliders are not adapted to living in sea water.
“Prompt intervention helped to prevent this, and we thank our callers for alerting us and for returning to check for more terrapins,” ACRES added.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in