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Forum: Let’s learn to share urban spaces with wildlife

I refer to the letter “

I refer to the letter “ ” (May 22) and find the writer’s views on wildlife unnecessarily panicky. It also seems an overreaction on the writer’s part to describe the shock at seeing a monkey for the first time in 33 years at home. The chickens wandering around communal estates and on hospital grounds can provide several benefits such as natural weed control, pest control and soil aeration, as well as providing natural fertiliser. The presence of wildlife has also livened up our urban spaces, reminding us of our past and also making our young ones excited and curious whenever they spot the animals. Singapore is highly urbanised. As the demand for space continues, people and wildlife are increasingly interacting, which naturally leads to increased human-wildlife conflict. We have taken much of the wildlife’s natural habitats away, and the least we can do is manage and reduce human-wildlife conflict by, for example, not feeding monkeys and pigeons. The writer may perhaps get a better understanding of co-existing with wildlife from a website called Our Wild Neighbours.