SINGAPORE: Crow complaints in Singapore have tripled within the final 5 years, and it has been inflicting nice disturbance to residents. The Minister for Nationwide Improvement, Chee Hong Tat, introduced that Singapore is ready to renew its crow capturing operations beginning the second half of March 2026 as an extra measure to scale back the rising crow inhabitants within the nation.
In a social media publish, the minister admitted that the operations will carry some dangers since shotguns shall be used, and that the authorities are fastidiously managing these dangers alongside enhanced security measures for all.
“Shooters will undergo coaching and are required to stick to strict security controls. This consists of guaranteeing that the trajectory of the shotgun pellets is directed upwards always, which implies the shooter should shoot upwards, in addition to cordoning off the capturing zone with clear signage and offering adequate security personnel to stop unauthorised entry in the course of the capturing operations,” the publish acknowledged.
Elevated crow complaints
The complaints about crows obtained by city councils within the nation have greater than doubled—from practically 5,000 in 2020 to an estimated variety of 15,000 in 2025. Moreover, there’s a surge of crow assaults on folks, from 460 to over 2,000.
Discontinuation of the capturing operations
Since 2020, the crow capturing operations have been discontinued, and NParks has solely relied on different measures corresponding to trapping, nest elimination, and lowering meals sources for the birds.
The Nationwide Parks Board revealed that 9,000 crow nests have been distributed throughout the island in 2025, greater than ten occasions the quantity in 2021, with over 600. Trapping has additionally been rampant, with the variety of crows captured growing dramatically from over 1,800 in 2021 to over 13,000 in 2025. Nevertheless, these strategies gave the impression to be ineffective given the elevated numbers of not simply the birds, but additionally resident complaints.
Security issues
Concerning security, the Nationwide Park Service has renegotiated security measures with the police drive. These measures embrace that weapons should all the time be pointed upwards, warning tape and indicators have to be positioned within the designated capturing space, and extra personnel shall be deployed to stop unauthorised personnel from approaching.
Moreover, solely licensed professionals who’ve undergone formal firearms coaching shall be allowed to fireside.
Netizens shared issues concerning the state of affairs, with some calling for stronger motion as crow numbers seem like rising. One commenter described the birds as more and more intimidating, saying they’ll grow to be aggressive when nesting close by.
One netizen wrote, “Sure. Time to behave. There are too many.”
