Cordoned-off zone, informing public early: NParks introduces safety measures as crow shooting resumes

With the resumption of crow shooting operations since late-March, the National Parks Board (NParks) has introduced safety measures to ensure public safety.

In a statement on Thursday (April 2), it said that these include cordoned-off zones with signages, as well as working with stakeholders to inform the public on the location and timing of the operations.

The shooters, who are wildlife management contractors engaged by NParks, are also required to ensure that the trajectory of the shotgun pellets is always directed upwards.

A 25-minute shooting operation was witnessed by reporters at a heavy vehicle carpark in Jurong on Thursday.

Such operations have begun in Yishun, and would be expanded to eight other districts over the next few weeks, including Bishan, Jurong, Kranji, Punggol, Sembawang, Tampines, Toa Payoh and Woodlands.

NParks said that these locations are chosen due to the presence of large number of crows, suitability to conduct shooting safely and crow aversion to traps in the area.

"NParks will continue to study more sites and expand the rollout of crow shooting operations over time," it said.

"The progressive implementation also allows NParks to refine safety protocols and fine-tune risk mitigation measures."

According to NParks, the review on the safety protocols were done together with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the police.

Crow shooting operations were discontinued in 2020 after pellets, wielded by auxiliary police officers, struck nearby homes.

Announcing its resumption on Feb 23, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said that other measures to manage the crow population — including trapping and removal of crows, the removal of crow nests — have proven inadequate on their own.

"In 2025 alone, the Municipal Services Office received about 15,000 crow-related feedback, three times more than in 2020," he said then, adding that reports of crow attacks have also increased by fourfold to more than 2,000 cases over the same period.

"If the crow population continues to grow, it will affect the safety of our residents, as there will be more and more crow-related attacks."

The Straits Times reported that the crow population grew by more than 20 times in the last decade, from 7,295 to about 160,000 in 2024. 

NParks said it conducts studies to understand the crows’ ecology, such as their roosting patterns and foraging movements, which helps its crow management efforts. 

This includes tracking crow movement using Bluetooth trackers in 2025. 

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chingshijie@asiaone.com