Mandai Bird Sanctuary

Chlidonias · 16 Jun 2016

The Mandai Bird Sanctuary is a private collection in the Mandai area (to which Jurong Bird Park is relocating) which is going to be closing in its current location. The new location may have a visitor centre.

Lots of photos on both the following links.

Bird sanctuary appeals for help to rehome 3,000 exotic birds as land lease expires - Channel NewsAsia

24 March 2016

On a typical day in a quiet lane off Mandai Road, stray dogs laze around on the empty street, only getting up to make way for the occasional car that passes by.

The only thing that breaks the silence is the faint sound of squawking and cawing that comes from the aviaries of the Mandai Birds Sanctuary.

The sanctuary is certified by Cites (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) as a centre for research and development as well as a breeding centre for exotic birds. They have a collection of more than 3,000 birds, including several varieties of endangered species.

But it will not be around for much longer - the farm’s 20-year lease has expired, and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) wants the land back by May.

With Mandai set to undergo a transformation into a mega nature attraction area by 2020, the bird farm's owners had initially hoped their project would be included in the plans.

“This place is designated as an agro-tech park, so I thought we were quite safe here. When I read about the Mandai immersive zoo-type experience, I thought we would fit in very well to work with them,” said Mr Daniel Teo, 73, one of the project's co-founders.

After granting the farm a lease extension of more than three years, an SLA spokesperson said the development time-frame for the land “has been firmed up” and that no further extension can be granted. They added that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) will assist to explore various options for the birds.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) dispelled speculation that the site would be used to house birds from Jurong Bird Park when the park gets relocated to the area. “The future plans for the site are not related to the Mandai project. We are finalising the details of its future use,” said a URA spokesperson.

RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS

With 3,000 birds under his wings, Mr Teo is desperate for a new site, and has made several appeals to the SLA, AVA and URA for assistance.

His latest appeal was for an area along the Green Corridor to create an integrated living habitat for the birds, which would include a visitor’s centre, eco-farms and a centre for bird collectors.

However, his plans seem unlikely to take place. “We have urged the Mandai Birds Sanctuary to explore other options, such as overseas buyers who have expressed an interest in buying their birds,” an AVA spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia.

Mr Teo and his partners have received multiple enquiries from interested breeders and farm owners overseas, but he still hopes to be able to retain a small portion of his farm.

“We started this project with a vision to preserve the rare and endangered species of birds around this region,” said Mr Teo, who claims to have received backing from the late Dr Goh Keng Swee to start the enterprise 22 years ago.

The project started with 20 to 30 birds, and today they house 125 species of rare birds. Twenty species are classified as endangered, such as the Black Palm Cockatoos, Hyacinth Macaws and Moluccan Cockatoos.

“It will be a shame to just give all this up,” said Mr Teo.

FATE OF THE BIRDS

Mr Rosendo Jacildo, the farm manager who has been caring for the birds since the start of the project, is concerned about the fate of the birds should they not be able to rehome them.

“I feel very sad. I really like my job, and I love the birds. If they don't have the right person to care for them, they will die,” he said.

He added that when mating birds are paired, they remain a pair for life. If separated, they could get depressed and eventually die.

“Even with an alternate site, the danger of stress to the birds on moving them is very high, and will quite possibly result in the death of quite a number of birds,” said Mr Teo.

“They will not survive if we release them into the wild,” he added.

PRESERVING THE POOL OF KNOWLEDGE

Having also operated as a research centre, the bird sanctuary has hosted veterinary students and researchers from overseas institutions like University of Melbourne's Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences.

“Fifteen students have gone through their internship programme with us. They come and stay here, study the birds’ behaviour, the hatching process and help feed the birds,” he said.

“We see the very real possibility of losing the results of all our efforts, including our investment of time, money and passion,” said Mr Teo.

“We really need to consider a few options - some parts maybe we will sell it, but we would like to continue our mission - perhaps with a smaller group. Especially with the R&D side and our internship program,” he added.
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Mandai Bird Sanctuary prepares to move - Channel NewsAsia

16 June 2016

Mandai Bird Sanctuary has been something of a secret for the past two decades, since it opened in 1994. The sanctuary was previously open only to experts and academics from around the world, and as a place for research development in bird breeding. But as it prepares to move to a new home in Sungei Tengah after its lease expires, this may be about to change - it is even planning to have a visitor centre at its new location.

The sanctuary currently sits on two hectares of land along Lorong Lada Hitam, and has long bred exotic species. It has eight aviaries which house about 2,800 birds from more than 120 species. Many of them are rare, and some are also endangered. They include breeds such as the Black Palm Cockatoo and Eclectus Parrot.

Mandai Bird Sanctuary is one of only two farms in Singapore which have been approved by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – an international treaty to protect endangered wildlife.

SPREADING ITS WINGS

The sanctuary has been selling more than a thousand birds each year, both locally and regionally, with some prized at tens of thousands of dollars each.

Rings, with unique identification numbers, are placed around one of the birds’ legs to mark them as legally bred birds. They are also registered with authorities.

According to the sanctuary's curator, the business has become more robust over the years.

"Last time, about 15 years ago, we used to sell birds to bird shops because we didn't have enough overseas buyers at the time,” said Mr Rosendo Jacildo, curator of the sanctuary. “But since then, we’ve gotten the Japan market, Taiwan and China."

Mr Jacildo added that between 70 to 80 per cent of the sanctuary's sales are now exports abroad and they rarely supply to local bird shops anymore.

However, the move to their home is expected to disrupt this.

The sanctuary’s lease was originally set to expire by the end of May. However, an extension by the Singapore Land Authority meant they now have till February 2017 to move to Sungei Tengah.

SOME BIRDS MAY PERISH IN THE 'BIG MOVE'

But according to Mr Jacildo, one in 15 birds is expected to perish in the moving process.

"We expect some casualties over 'the big move'," added Mr Daniel Teo, co-founder of the sanctuary.

"The Black Palm Cockatoos, Toucans, they are all very sensitive birds, and the Lories,” said Mr Jacildo. “When you move (them) around, they get frightened, they don't eat for five days, and that's how they get sick."

Some birds living at the sanctuary don't even belong to there - they are boarders, owned by private collectors who don't have enough room at home.

Said Mr Teo: "We have many collectors who park their birds with us, so we also need to talk to them on how to help them re-site, but they'll have to take the risk with us."

PLANS FOR THE NEW SANCTUARY

With the new space set to be half the size of the current location, the sanctuary will also have to lose about half of its birds. To do so, they are selling the birds to breeders abroad.

It plans to use some of the birds it does keep at the new educational visitor centre.

"We'll move some of them, perhaps select the more endangered species, to continue breeding,” said Mr Teo. “Our idea will be (to exhibit the process) from hatching, from the birth, shows some incubators and how they are hatched, over to classify them in different months until they are fully grown, ready to be sold or exported."

A DAY AT THE SANCTUARY

While some eggs are left to hatch naturally in nest boxes, others must be incubated artificially and monitored regularly. The process is no easy task, even after they hatch, said Mr Jacildo, who also helps to run the daily operations of the sanctuary.

"We start feeding them at seven,” he said. “From the first day they hatch, they need to be fed eight times a day. One person will take care of that routine, while another worker will help him. When he has a day off, somebody else will need to look after the babies, so very long hours are needed to monitor the babies. You have to feed them at night also."
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Mandai Bird Sanctuary

Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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