Chickens bring kampung spirit to Tampines

The sight of some 50 chickens around Block 266 Tampines Street 21 has caught the attention of residents in the area.

Tampines GRC MP Cheng Li Hui told Shin Min Daily News that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) and the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) are looking into adoption for the chickens.

A resident who did not want to be named told the Chinese newspaper that the chickens started appearing about a year ago and a 70-year-old woman has been feeding them.

She said the chickens have also been seen around blocks 249 and 272.

She said: "There have been complaints that the chickens are making a lot of noise early in the morning and the authorities were alerted.

"As the woman was scared the chickens would be caught, she tried to separate them in different areas."

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Another resident, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lin, said he would sometimes take his children down to feed the chickens.

Mr Lin said: "The chickens remind me of the old Singapore and the kampung spirit, and I wanted my children to experience it too."

Ms Cheng told Shin Min that she has received residents' feedback about the chickens, and said chicken breeding has been increasing in the past four months.

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However, the number of chickens has not exceeded 50 and the situation will be monitored.

While she is aware the residents have been taking turns to care for the chickens, she said AVA and Acres will be in discussion about rehoming the chickens, possibly in a public park.

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Another option is to allow residents to raise about 10 chickens in a designated part of the neighbourhood, said Ms Cheng.

She added that she is concerned as the residents may be affected if there is another outbreak of bird flu.

Ms Cheng also pointed out that the feeding of the chickens may result in discarded food on the ground, and that may pose as an environmental concern if it is not cleaned up properly.