Noah's Ark sets up home in Johor

By Yeoh En-Lai, The Straits Times

The once-sunken Ark has resurfaced, only this time in Malaysia. Today is the

deadline for Noah's Ark Lodge operator Raymund Wee to vacate the former

premises at Seletar West Farmway 5. He has spent the past few weeks moving the

animals to his new sanctuary in Pekan Nanas, Johor. YEOH EN-LAI finds out that

it was not all plain sailing in the move.

   AFTER three extensions and a much-publicised row with the Agri-food and

Veterinary Authority of Singapore, Noah's Ark Lodge operator Raymund Wee is

hoisting anchor.

   After seven years, he has moved his Noah's Ark Lodge and more than 300

animals across the Causeway.

   The renamed Noah's Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary is less than half an hour's

drive from the Tuas checkpoint.

   Now, its former Seletar Farmway premises, once home to more than 500 dogs and

cats and other animals, has fewer than 30 dogs.

   The dogs left behind will be placed under the care of the Agri-food and

Veterinary Authority (AVA), as instructed by their owners who had had Mr Wee

look after them before.

   Each dog will have a microchip inserted under the skin, so that the AVA can

keep track of the animals.

   When The Sunday Times visited the old Ark last week, the Noah's Ark Lodge

sign had been dumped by the side of the entrance and replaced by a "Closed"

sign.

   The pond at the far end of the lodge had been drained. Empty pet cages were

stacked up and many potted plants had been removed, along with several

structures and support beams.

   Apart from the dogs, there were several doves there that were going to be

given away.

   "I have removed some of the structures I had built over the past seven years

as I am a caring person and I do not want anything to happen to Mr Thierry Lim

and the AVA when they come to this place," Mr Wee said.

   The AVA said it had given Mr Wee ample time to move the animals and find a

new home.

   Mr Chin Yen Neng, AVA's head of Infrastructure Management, said: "We gave him

three months, then another two one-month extensions, and after that, another

two weeks.

   "We have an obligation to the new tenant, Mr Thierry Lim.

   "We gave Mr Wee the additional time because we wanted minimal disruption to

the animals," he said.

   Mr Wee still contends that the initial three months should not be included in

the notice period, because the site was still being tendered out then.

   "I was confident of winning the bid in April. With this shelter, I helped to

answer the problem of strays, and I had invested so much here," said Mr Wee.

   "I built this place with love," he added.

   But there's no love lost between Mr Wee and the AVA.

   Mr Wee's battle to keep Noah's Ark Lodge at Seletar was very public. And not

always polite.

   His campaign included bombarding the Government with petitions of support and

attempting to discredit Mr Lim via his website.

   Still, he lost.

   Then came the mad scramble to relocate the animals. Some were too sick to be

moved quickly.

   The animals could only be transported to Malaysia at night because it was too

hot to do this in the daytime.

   The AVA will inspect the premises tomorrow morning. In a letter to the AVA,

which was obtained by The Sunday Times, Mr Wee said: "During the past 10 weeks

I had to find an alternative piece of land to relocate, clear and prepare a

piece of wild land, and build up a shelter for the animals.

   "Even if this were to be done in Singapore, it would take a minor miracle to

put all these together in such a short time."

   When asked what his fondest memory of the Seletar premises was, he said: "The

fight to keep this place. But now, we'll make a fresh start."

   TENANCY: End of extension

   IN 1987, the land at Seletar West Farmway 5 where Noah's Ark Lodge is sited

was tendered out to corporate trainer Harry Quek to run a dog-breeding and

kennelling business.

   Six years ago, 51-year-old Raymund Wee sublet it from Mr Quek and started

Noah's Ark Lodge. * Last December, Mr Quek told the Primary Production

Department (now the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority) that he did not want

to renew his tenancy.

   Mr Wee asked to be allowed to continue there.

   But the AVA turned him down, because Mr Quek was not allowed to sublet, under

the tenancy agreement.  In January, a public tender was announced.  Three

months later, AVA's head, Dr Ngiam Tong Tau, announced that dog-breeder and

handler Thierry Lim would take over the site.

   He had outbid Mr Wee by $12,101 per annum.  Mr Wee was given until May 15 to

quit but got two extensions of a month each until July 15.  Sometime last

month, a Singapore businessman offered him a 10-ha plot of land in Pekan

Nanas, Johor, which his family had used as a vacation home.  The AVA said Mr

Wee was granted a total of 22 export permits from July 7 to move the animals

over to Johor, but he said some of the forms were inadequately filled and he

was nearly turned back at the border.  On July 15, he got another two-week

extension. This ends today.

Source: The Straits Times
Date: 30 July 2000

New place seems ideal for animals

By Yeoh En-Lai, The Straits Times

A NEW place, a new beginning and it is just off the beaten track.

   After moving a big number of animals out of Singapore, Mr Raymund Wee, who

runs Noah's Ark Natural Animal Sanctuary, has sworn that he will not return

with the menagerie.

   He has cleared a 10-ha plot in Pekan Nanas, Johor, and built kennels, as well

as a home for himself, in the past two months. He said: "I don't want to even

try to go back."

   Back to Singapore, that is.

   The 51-year-old former airline steward said he had spent about $60,000 on the

new sanctuary. The land was given to him by a Singapore businessman.

   The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore placed a

public-tender notice on Friday for two plots of land in Loyang, which could

have become a site for Mr Wee's animal sanctuary.

   He did not want to bid.

   The new sanctuary, a half-hour drive from the Tuas checkpoint, is taking

shape.

   The road to the sanctuary is an untarred and narrow, with a few bumps.

   What had been thick undergrowth two months ago is now cleared land. A new

well has been dug to supply fresh water.

   But it seems to be ideal for the animals.

   The cats and dogs have bigger kennels. The goats and Melody, the pony, have

more space to run around in.

   A pond is being dug at the far end while a stream, which separates the dogs

and cats, divides the plot.

   Mr Wee described his ambitious plans.

   "I plan to build a few chalets so that owners can spend time with their pets

here. Then, I may conduct eco-tourism tours for youngsters," he said.

   He has bought books which he hopes will help him set up a herb garden.

   Without a full-time vet and no real income yet, it is hardly paradise.

   "I'm not a vet but I've learnt a lot over the years," he said. "I can say

that I know around 80 per cent of what a vet is supposed to know about animal

husbandry."

   The AVA has granted him export permits for 140 cats, 80 dogs, one pony, 12

goats, 25 rabbits, 20 ducks, 20 chickens and five peacocks. An albino python

and some birds also seemed to be residing happily there.

   Mr Wee said: "At least, I still have a place where stray and unwanted animals

can die with dignity."

ARK EMERGES FROM JUNGLE

   TWO months of hard work have gone into the battle to build the new Noah's Ark

Sanctuary, before the old Seletar West site shuts down today. Now, a new ark

is starting to emerge on a 10-ha piece of jungle in Johor. The past few weeks

have been a trying for Noah's Ark Lodge operator Raymund Wee as he has been

busy moving the more than 300 animals over to Johor. Standing in front of the

half-drained pond in Seletar, he claims he will not return to Singapore with

his animals.

   At the new site in Pekan Nanas, the dogs have newer, larger kennels and more

room to roam when they are let out.

Source: The Straits Times
Date: 30 July 2000