ST Podcasts Live zooms in on heat stress, coexisting with wildlife

Experts cover issues on climate change and the environment at two panel discussions

- Joyce Lee

During the Covid-19 pandemic, which was believed to have been sparked by a virus originating in bats trafficked through the wildlife trade, Singaporeans developed a fear of the animal.

Wildlife rescue group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) saw a rise in calls requesting help in removing wild bats, said its chief executive Kalaivanan Balakrishnan on Aug 12.

"People who never even knew there were bats around started venturing out and searching for bats roosting in trees," he said during the fourth ST Podcasts Live event held at clothes-swapping hub The Fashion Pulpit.

"There was one particular household that actually put a mist net across the whole swimming pool to trap fruit bats."

But he said the spread of diseases between humans and animals often happens when a wild animal is captured and in distress, and that people need not fear animals unnecessarily.

Mr Kalaivanan was speaking at a panel discussion on human-wildlife conflict in Singapore, and how it should be managed.

The dialogue — one of two panels that took place that night — was part of The Straits Times' Green Pulse podcast, which provides a South-east Asian perspective on climate change and environmental issues.

Hosted by ST correspondents Shabana Begum and Ang Qing, the panel on human-wildlife conflict also featured Ms Jasvic Lye, campaign manager of Our Wild Neighbours, an initiative to promote human-wildlife coexistence in Singapore.