Wildlife advocate Anbarasi Boopal steps down as Acres' co-CEO

After nearly 20 years advocating for wildlife, Anbarasi Boopal, better known as Anbu, has stepped down as co-chief executive of Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres).

Anbu officially did so on Apr. 30, and plans to take a break after, reported The Straits Times.

She told ST that following this, she hopes to work on policies on the welfare of farmed animals.

Anbu first started volunteering with Acres in 2005 as a graduate student at the National University of Singapore, after rescuing an Indian star tortoise being kept illegally in a backyard.

She then joined Acres full-time in 2007.

Over the years, Anbu has helped rescue all manner of wildlife, and even busted several jewellery and antique shops in Singapore that were selling tiger parts illegally.

She and Kalai Vanan took on the mantle of co-CEO after former CEO and Member of Parliament Louis Ng stepped down in 2021.

Now, Kalai has stepped into the role of Acres CEO.

A "heroine"

Since Anbu's departure, several have put up posts commending her work.

N Sivasothi, a biologist and lecturer at NUS, shared that Anbu will be leaving Singapore, and that her departure is "a tremendous change for all of us in the nature and animal welfare communities."

"She is going on to help even more creatures and we will be proud that she spent some defining years in Singapore."

The Urban Birds Initiative described her in a Facebook post as "a relentless force of a human being, who uses her intelligence, empathy and energy for good and not self-enrichment."

"Anbarasi Boopal will always be the heroine of the marginalised animals, and we thank her for existing, for coming to Singapore, and for being just her."

Top photo from Alvin Tan/FB and Ken Blue/Google Maps