SINGAPORE – The more than 100 baby quails dumped in a rubbish bin on Oct 27 were found outside Singapore’s only licensed quail farm, Quailico Eggs, The Straits Times has learnt.

Animal Research and Education Society (Acres) found the 106 live quail chicks in the green bin in Lim Chu Kang, along with hundreds of lifeless chickens and unhatched eggs. None of the live chicks survived.

The wildlife rescue group posted about the incident on social media on Nov. 3, but did not reveal the location of the trash.

ST’s checks revealed that Quailico Eggs is the only licensed quail farm in Singapore. It is located in Neo Tiew Crescent.

When ST contacted the farm on November 7, a staff member who answered the call confirmed that the quail chicks and eggs came from the farm.

She said the National Parks Board (NParks) was conducting an investigation and checked the farms during the week of October 27.

Acres co-chief executive Anbarasi Boopal confirmed in response to ST’s query that the bin was located outside Quailico Eggs.

In response to follow-up questions, both the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and NParks referred ST to NParks’ original statement, published on 3 November.

In this statement, the agency confirmed that it had received feedback on the alleged abandonment of quail chicks and was investigating the matter.

“We will take action against anyone who has abandoned their pet, failed to provide adequate care or committed an act of animal cruelty,” the statement added.

In his Nov. 3 social media post, Acres said a person called the wildlife rescue hotline on the night of Oct. 27 and reported hearing chirping sounds coming from the chimney.

Acres later found a baby quail on a black trash bag inside the bin, which led to the discovery of the bag’s contents.

“I didn’t count the dead chicks and unhatched eggs because there were so many, possibly in the hundreds. We had to focus on those who were still alive,” Ms. Anbarasi said.