Singapore — A man walking along Pasir Ris Street 71 on Jan 15 spotted a Javan mynah with a cable tie on its mouth and two more on its legs, preventing it from flying or moving properly.
Haziq Ismail was on his way home when he saw something moving in a “weird way” on a patch of grass up ahead.
He first thought the animal hopping sporadically was a kitten but was shocked when he discovered it was a mynah.
Mr Ismail told Mothership that the bird had a cable tie wrapped around the back of its head and jaw, preventing it from closing its mouth.
Two more ties were wrapped around each leg. “Due to discomfort or pain, the poor creature couldn’t fly, hop properly, or close its jaw,” said Mr Ismail.
He then used a blue fishing net to grab the bird and brought it to a nearby Housing and Development Board corridor to remove the cable ties with a pair of pliers.
“It was kind of a struggle to remove the cable ties, especially the ones around its mouth because it didn’t want to open its jaw,” said Mr Ismail.
After five minutes of carefully cutting the cable ties, the mynah was able to hop away and take flight.
“However, I do think that the perpetrator might need some help as well because a normal person wouldn’t do such a thing,” said the kind passerby, considering lodging a report on the incident.
The incident was shared on the Facebook page Singapore Wildlife Sightings on Thursday (Jan 27), with netizens calling the culprit’s actions “sick and disturbing.”
“I think someone is using the mynah as a bait to lure shoots with the bigger predators. Seen one post similarly with a string tied to legs,” commented a page member.
Facebook user QL Ng said their area also had two mynah birds with cable ties on their legs. “Sickening mad people,” the netizen added.
Netizens also thanked Mr Ismail for saving the bird.
This isn’t the first time birds have fallen victim to torture.
A woman had hung a mynah on a laundry pole stand outside her apartment in Yishun in December 2019.
According to ACRES (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society), the woman put the bird on the pole on purpose to teach it and other mynahs a lesson to not come into her home.
In another incident, a pigeon was spotted along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10 in January last year with a sharpened wooden stick lodged deeply in its eye.
“The poor pigeon who was disoriented was rescued with the help of the caller who kept watch on the pigeon,” said ACRES.
The agency noted that someone sharpened a wooden stick and used it as a dart to puncture the pigeon’s right eye.
Under the Animals and Birds Act, first-time offenders found guilty of animal cruelty face a fine of up to S$15,000, imprisonment for up to 18 months, or both.
Repeat offenders stand to face a fine of up to S$30,000, up to three years’ imprisonment, or both. /TISG
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