Bidadari residents divided over NParks' plan to move stray dogs for public safety

Bidadari residents are divided over the fate of four stray dogs in the neighbourhood park, after the National Parks Board (NParks) said it would remove the pack from the area for public safety.

- Carmen Sin and Tang Yi Qing

Since Bidadari Park opened in September 2024, some 50 parkgoers have complained of the dogs' "territorial behaviour", prompting the authority to intervene, said an NParks spokesperson on Feb 10.

Trappers are in the process of "humanely capturing" the dogs, said NParks, adding that it would work closely with animal welfare groups to manage the animals after they are caught. Options include fostering and finding new homes for them, it said.

But residents are in two minds about the move.

Some are appealing for the animals – likely the mix-breed Singapore Special dogs – to stay, saying the stress of eviction would kill the old and unusually skittish canines.

An online petition to save them has over 3,000 signatures.

Others, who were at the park on the evening of Feb 10 when The Straits Times visited, said the big dogs were frightening, with "fierce" barks and a habit of chasing people – a hazard that should be removed.