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