5 albino red-eared slider terrapins rescued from West Coast Park
Exposing the terrapins to salt water can cause severe dehydration and death.
On September 27th, five albino red-eared slider terrapins were rescued from the coast of West Coast Park. The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) received a call through their wildlife rescue hotline around 11am from concerned citizens. These freshwater creatures, commonly sold as pets, were found perched on rocks near the water.
ACRES expressed concern over their exposure to salt water, which can lead to severe dehydration and death. They emphasized that red-eared sliders are not adapted to living in marine environments. ACRES intervened to prevent the terrapins from suffering a potentially painful death, highlighting the illegal nature of releasing them into Singapore's natural environment.
While ACRES typically doesn't rescue red-eared sliders, they did so this time to ensure the terrapins' safety. The rescued terrapins appeared to be in decent health, though they had old lesions, shell damage, healed ulcers, and a broken nail. ACRES is currently seeking adopters for the terrapins, urging pet owners against releasing their pets into the wild, as they may not survive and can pose risks to the environment.
ACRES has previously dealt with welfare concerns related to red-eared terrapins kept in inadequate conditions. They advocate against the import and sale of red-eared slider terrapins due to welfare and abandonment issues.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
