WILD-EYED: A STUDY OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

In the efforts of greening Singapore, human-wildlife interactions and conflicts have been increasing steadily over the years. Despite efforts by the government in trying to encourage human-wildlife coexistence, harmful nature-society binaries still dominate the perceptions of many Singaporeans. According to Wolch (2002), the deconstruction of such harmful binaries, including human spatial ordering and anthropocentrism, are necessary in re-animating the city. She argues that, in the mediation of human-wildlife management strategies, the human has to be decentred and animal subjectivity should be recognised. However, due to the complex political and economical entanglements and obligations of government bodies, the strategies that they undertake are thoroughly human-centred. Instead, grassroot activists like ACRES are leading social movements, inspiring change in personal and managerial levels. Through recognising the “otherness” but not “othering”, as well as respecting individual human sensibilities, they craft strategies that aim to transform urban practice to one that is more animal-inclusive. Employing ‘new’ animal geography methods of multispecies ethnography and in-depth interviews, this research aims to find out how ACRES offer alternative perspectives to current human-wildlife management outlooks and how these perspectives can contribute to Wolch’s vision of Anima Urbis.