Louis Ng, the founder of Singapore animal welfare non-profit Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (ACRES), has stepped down as chief executive.
He will now focus on his duties as Member of Parliament.
Ng is Singapore’s most prominent politician focused on sustainability issues. He has pushed for a reduction in single-use plastic consumption, mandatory paid home leave for domestic helpers, and greater protections for Singapore’s wildlife since going into politics in 2015.
Taking his place as co-chief executives of ACRES are long-serving staffers Anbarasi Boopal and Kalai Vanan, who were both previously deputy CEOs. Boopal joined ACRES in 2007, Vanan in 2010.
ACRES campaigns for an end to the illegal wildlife trade, and has repatriated animals rescued from the trade in recent years, including Indian star tortoises and Malaysian giant turtles. The group is also pushing to stop the sale of live animals in wet markets and food stalls.
In March last year, an ACRES investigation of a live wet market in Singapore revealed the slaughter of live animals close to where meat was being sold to the public, which the group said poses a risk of disease transmission.
Boopal said in an interview in November that the stress animals experience when trafficked is more likely to lead to the expression of pathogens that cause diseases such as Covid-19.
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