Wildlife Act

• Coming into Force: 30 December 2000
• copyrightNote: © Singapore legislation sourced from Singapore Statutes Online. It is subject to copyright of the Singapore Government and is reproduced with the permission of the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore.
• Enactment Date: 22 October 1965
• Published date: 30 December 2000
• Record Number: Cap. 351
• Act Number: (Original Enactment: Ordinance 5 of 1965)

Wildlife Act

(CHAPTER 351)

(Original Enactment: Ordinance 5 of 1965)

REVISED EDITION 2000

(30th December 2000)

An Act for the protection, preservation and management of wildlife for the purposes of maintaining a healthy ecosystem and safeguarding public safety and health, and for related matters. [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020]

[22nd October 1965]

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Wildlife Act. [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020]

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “animal” includes any mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish or invertebrate, whether of a wild nature or otherwise; [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “animal-related business” means — (a) the operation of any place or establishment for the purpose of — (i) using or holding animals for display, sport, entertainment, sale, breeding or conservation; or (ii) the care, boarding, grooming, treatment, vaccination, inoculation, training or destruction of animals, for reward; (b) the provision of any service relating to the care, boarding, grooming, treatment, vaccination, inoculation, training, transportation, capture or destruction of animals, for reward; or (c) the operation of any animal rescue or welfare organisation or facility, but does not include any business in respect of animals intended for consumption; [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “authorised officer” means any person appointed under section 4(2) by the Director-General to be an authorised officer; [Deleted by Act 10 of 2019 wef 01/04/2019] “Board” means the National Parks Board established by the repealed National Parks Act (Cap. 198A, 1991 Ed.) as in force before 1 July 1996 and continued by section 3 of the National Parks Board Act (Cap. 198A); [Act 10 of 2019 wef 01/04/2019] “conveyance” includes any vehicle, vessel, train, aircraft or other mode of transport; [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “Director-General” means the Director-General, Wildlife Management appointed under section 4(1); [Act 10 of 2019 wef 01/04/2019] [Deleted by Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “enforcement officer” means an authorised officer, a police officer or an officer of customs; [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “limited liability partnership” has the meaning given by the Limited Liability Partnerships Act (Cap. 163A); [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “officer of customs” has the meaning given by the Customs Act (Cap. 70); [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “owner” includes any person for the time being in charge of any wildlife (whether alive or dead), part of a wildlife, article, conveyance or other thing, and any person for the time being in occupation of any building; [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “place” means any public or private place and includes — (a) any land, whether built on or not; (b) any body of water; and (c) any area, whether or not enclosed, and whether above-ground, underground or underwater; [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “police officer” means a member of the Police Force or a special police officer, as defined in the Police Force Act (Cap. 235); [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “protected wildlife” means a wildlife that belongs to a protected wildlife species; [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “protected wildlife species” means a wildlife species prescribed as a protected wildlife species for the purposes of this Act; [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “reward” means any payment or other benefit (whether monetary or otherwise); [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “seized item” means any wildlife (whether dead or alive), part of a wildlife, article, conveyance or other thing seized by an enforcement officer under this Act; [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “wildlife” means an animal that belongs to a wildlife species, and includes the young or egg of the animal; [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020] “wildlife species” means any species of animals of a wild nature, but excludes domestic dogs and cats, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, domestic pigs and poultry. [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020]

Operation of other written laws

3.—(1) To avoid doubt, nothing in this Act affects or limits the operation of the following written laws: (a) the Animals and Birds Act (Cap. 7); (b) the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (Cap. 30C); (c) the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 41); (d) the Control of Vectors and Pesticides Act (Cap. 59); (e) the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act (Cap. 92A); (f) the Environmental Public Health Act (Cap. 95); (g) the Executive Condominium Housing Scheme Act (Cap. 99A); (h) the Fisheries Act (Cap. 111); (i) the Housing and Development Act (Cap. 129); (j) the HUDC Housing Estates Act (Cap. 131); (k) the Infectious Diseases Act (Cap. 137); (l) the Jurong Town Corporation Act (Cap. 150); (m) the Parks and Trees Act (Cap. 216); (n) the Public Utilities Act (Cap. 261); (o) the Sentosa Development Corporation Act (Cap. 291). (2) To also avoid doubt, nothing in this Act affects a police officer’s powers or duties under the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68) or any other written law. [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020]

Appointment of Director-General and authorised officers

4.—(1) The Board is responsible for the administration of this Act, and to that end, the Board must appoint an officer of the Board to be the Director-General, Wildlife Management. (2) The Director-General may, subject to the directions of the Board, appoint any of the following persons to be an authorised officer for the purpose of assisting the Director-General in administering and carrying out the provisions of this Act or any other written law which confers powers on the Director-General: (a) an employee of the Board; (b) an employee of another statutory authority; (c) a public officer; (d) an auxiliary police officer appointed under the Police Force Act (Cap. 235). (3) The Director-General may delegate the exercise of all or any of the powers conferred or duties imposed upon the Director-General by any provision of this Act or any other written law (except the power of delegation conferred by this subsection) to an authorised officer; and any reference in the provision of this Act or any other written law to the Director-General includes a reference to such an authorised officer. (4) Any delegation under subsection (3) may be general or in a particular case and may be subject to such conditions or limitations as set out in this Act or as the Board may specify. (5) The Director-General may, for any reason that appears to him to be sufficient, at any time revoke a person’s appointment as an authorised officer. (6) A person mentioned in subsection (2)(d) who is appointed as an authorised officer does not, by virtue only of the appointment, become an employee or agent of the Board. [Act 10 of 2019 wef 01/04/2019]

Authorised officers are public servants and public officers

4A. Without affecting sections 20 and 21 of the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018 (Act 5 of 2018), an authorised officer — (a) is taken to be a public servant for the purposes of the Penal Code (Cap. 224) when performing a function or exercising a power under this Act; and (b) is, in relation to the administration, assessment, collection or enforcement of payment of a composition sum under this Act, taken to be a public officer for the purposes of the Financial Procedure Act (Cap. 109); and section 20 of that Act applies to the authorised officer even though the authorised officer is not or was not in the employment of the Government. [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020]

Director-General’s written approvals under Act

5.—(1) The Director-General may give a written approval under this Act — (a) generally, or to a particular person or a particular class of persons; (b) subject to any condition the Director-General thinks fit; and (c) in any form or manner the Director-General thinks fit (including by publishing the written approval and the conditions of the approval on the Board’s official website). (2) In this section, “official website”, for the Board, means the Board’s official website at https://www.nparks.gov.sg or any other website prescribed as the Board’s official website for the purposes of this section. [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020]

Feeding of wildlife

5A.—(1) A person must not intentionally feed any wildlife in any place unless the person has the Director-General’s written approval to do so. (2) A person who has the Director-General’s written approval mentioned in subsection (1) must comply with the conditions of the approval. (3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction — (a) for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding $5,000; and (b) for a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $10,000. [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020]

Releasing of wildlife

5B.—(1) A person must not intentionally release any wildlife in any place unless the person has the Director-General’s written approval to do so. (2) A person who has the Director-General’s written approval mentioned in subsection (1) must comply with the conditions of the approval. (3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000. [Act 18 of 2020 wef 01/06/2020]

Killing, trapping, taking or keeping of wildlife

5C.—(1) A person must not intentionally kill, trap, take or keep any wildlife in any place unless the person has the Director-General’s written approval to do so. (2) A person who has the Director-General’s written approval mentioned in subsection (1) must comply with the conditions of the approval. (3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction — (a) in the case where the offence is committed in respect of a protected wildlife, to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both; and (b) in any other case — (i) where the person commits the offence in the course of carrying on, or employment or purported employment with, an animal-related business, to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not

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