Saturday Mornings: Illegal Pets, "Hugging" Monitor Lizards, And Singapore’s Wildlife Crisis

🌍On MoneyFM 89.3 Kalai Vanan Balakrishnan, President of ACRES, the organisation at the front lines of protecting wildlife and raising awareness about animal welfare joins Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen to discuss two major stories this week in Singapore:

NParks’ dramatic seizure of 101 illegal pets from a residential unit including axolotls, tortoises, frogs, exotic fish, and a gecko suffering from a ruptured eye. The case exposes a growing underground trade driven by Telegram groups and private sellers, and the rising cruelty behind “cute” exotic pets.

We also unpack the viral video of two monitor lizards “hugging” in Sengkang which, as Kalai explains, was actually a dominance fight between two males, not romance.

It’s a reminder that Singapore’s wildlife is wild, and residents need to understand behaviour before intervening.

With World Animal Day on 17 October, Kalai shares what Singaporeans must know about wildlife protection, how to respond when encountering animals in distress, and why ACRES’ rescue hotline is more critical than ever.

Wildlife Rescue & Crime Hotline:+65 9783 7782 Daily from 7.00am to 1.00am

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