ACRES investigating case of civet killed by dart

Singapore – A young civet has been found dead in Kembangan, and ACRES is appealing to the public for further information.

On May 20, a resident in Kembangan spotted the carcass of a young civet in the neighbourhood at 9.30 am, reported Mothership.

He took photos of the incident and reported it to the criminal department at Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES), which collected the carcass and conducted further investigations.

A group of civets was known to reside in the vicinity, but they did not bother the residents.

The civets were seen only once or twice a year.

The carcass was sent to NParks’ lab for a post mortem, shared ACRES co-CEO Anbarasi Boopal.

She appealed to the public for more information about this and other cases of animals hit by darts.

ACRES has filed a number of police reports, calling for a ban on blow dart sales in Singapore after coming across several incidents of pigeons injured or killed by darts in Tampines and Pasir Ris last year.

“There is no reason for anyone to use these in Singapore, and it’s very difficult to trace who used them. The civet dart steel shaft is very thick and can cause serious injuries to humans as well,” she said.

NParks also provided some information on what residents should do when encountering civets:
1. Leave the civet alone but you can observe it from afar.
2. Don’t let the civet feel threatened by chasing it as it may attack in self-defence.
3. If civets are spotted in the vicinity, do not leave any food, including cat or dog food, out in the open.
4. If you find baby civets, leave them alone and do not attempt to pick them up. More civets may abandon their babies if too many people are crowding around. The mother will respond to the baby civets’ cries and find them.
5. If the civet happens to give birth on your property, the family will move out of your property in a few months’ time once the babies are able to forage with their mother.

For further enquiries, please contact ACRES at 9783 7782 or Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-1600.

Phuong Le Ha is an intern at The Independent SG/TISG