APCEL Seminar: Legal and policy frameworks as tools for compassion: Strengthening animal protection in Singapore

From left to right: Anbarasi Boopal, former co-CEO (ACRES), Mark Ortega, Sheridan Fellow (NUS Law)

On 20 May 2025, APCEL hosted a lunchtime seminar titled ‘Legal and policy frameworks as tools for compassion: Strengthening animal protection in Singapore’ by Ms Anbarasi (Anbu) Boopal, the former Co-CEO of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES). The event was well attended with over 40 participants from law firms, academia, nature and animal welfare groups, NParks, SPCA, and private individuals with a deep interest in animal protection.

Anbu shared her 20 years’ experience at the forefront of animal protection and enforcement work through the use of Singapore’s laws and provided an eye-opening and candid reflection of ‘law in action’.

Anbu shared tales of on-the-ground work conducting investigations, enforcements, and rescues of Singapore’s animal and wildlife, and the triumphs and practical pain points of utilising Singapore’s legislative frameworks, including the Animals and Birds Act 1965, the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 2006, and the Wildlife Act 1965, as well as international conventions like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Anbu also shared her experiences working with other governmental agencies such as the National Parks Board (NParks) and non-governmental organisations like the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

The engaging discussion elicited many enthusiastic comments and questions, covering topics ranging from protecting community cats to Environmental Impact Assessments to building and planning design and coexisting with Nature. APCEL’s Mark Ortega moderated the talk and questions-and-answers.

This article is available in pdf here.
View the event e-flyer here.