Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on High-Rise Bird Feeding by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on High-Rise Bird Feeding by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment

Ms Carrie Tan: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment pertaining to the perennial challenge encountered in many neighborhoods to stop high-rise bird-feeding, what methods has the Ministry looked into to punish or deter recalcitrant offenders to put a stop to such actions effectively.

Answer:

1 The National Environment Agency (NEA) works closely with the National Parks Board (NParks) and Town Councils to address high-rise bird-feeding. This could involve residents leaving food for birds on windowsills or throwing food out of windows, which constitutes high-rise littering.

2 NParks adopts a holistic suite of measures to deter illegal bird-feeding, including enforcement, public education and outreach. NParks partners Town Councils, the Municipal Services Office (MSO), People’s Association (PA) and Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to engage persistent feeders, including those who leave food on windowsills, to discourage them from feeding birds. Last year, NParks also launched the “Say No to Feeding Wildlife” campaign to raise awareness on the negative impacts of feeding wildlife such as birds.

3 To increase public awareness and deter high-rise littering including high-rise bird-feeding, NEA partners Town Councils to deploy standees and posters at HDB blocks, highlighting on-going surveillance and statistics on incidents, as well as the environmental and social consequences of high-rise littering.

4 NParks and Town Councils work together to enforce against illegal bird-feeding, through ground surveillance at hotspots and targeted enforcement operations. In 2020, NParks introduced stiffer penalties under the Wildlife Act for the illegal feeding of wildlife, including birds. Offenders can now be fined up to $5,000 for their first offence of illegal wildlife-feeding, and up to $10,000 for subsequent offences.

5 For high-rise bird-feeding which results in food waste being littered in public areas, enforcement may be taken for such acts of littering under the Environmental Public Health Act. First-time litterbugs may be fined up to $2,000. Recalcitrant offenders may be fined up to $4,000 for the second offence, and up to $10,000 for subsequent offences. Offenders may also be issued with a Corrective Work Order.

6 Upholding high standards of public cleanliness and keeping the pest bird population under control are a collective effort. We seek everyone’s cooperation to avoid feeding birds and to keep Singapore clean.