PUBLISHED ONFebruary 23, 2026 10:00 AMBYSean LerThe National Parks Board (NParks) announced on Monday (Feb 23) that it will resume crow shooting from the second week of March as part of its efforts to actively manage the crow population.
It said that public complaints against crows have risen sharply from about 5,000 cases in 2020 to about 15,000 cases last year.
Over the same period, feedback on crow aggression has surged from over 460 cases in 2020 to more than 2,000 cases in 2025.
In a Facebook video posted on Monday, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said that if the crow population is not brought under control, there will be "more and more" crow-related attacks, thereby affecting the safety of residents.
He said: "We should not wait for this to happen before we take action.
"I have therefore asked NParks to bring back crow shooting as one of the measures to reduce the crow population in Singapore."
NParks said it intensified its multi-pronged crow management efforts after shooting operations ceased in 2020. This includes crow trapping and removal, as well as nest removal.
Close to 9,000 crow nests were removed islandwide last year, up from 600 in 2021. Meanwhile, the number of crows trapped and removed rose from over 1,800 in 2021 to over 13,000 in 2025.
Explaining its decision, NParks said that crows are an invasive non-native species in Singapore and pose a threat to its native biodiversity.
It added that crows are also particularly protective of their young and may attack residents when they sense that their young are threatened.
"Crows are highly adaptable to urban environments and can easily become trap shy, making it necessary to complement population control with other sustainable ways to reduce crow populations," NParks elaborated.
@asiaone With public complaints tripling from about 5,000 in 2020 to 15,000 last year, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat has called for crow shooting to resume. #singapore #sgnews #news #crow #pests ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
NParks said that it has worked with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Singapore Police Force to review safety protocols.
This has led to the development of a customised operational framework which includes safety controls such as ensuring that the shooting trajectory of the shotgun pellets is always directed upwards.
In areas where crow shooting operations are conducted, the shooting zone will be cordoned off, with signage and additional personnel deployed to manage public access and restrict unauthorised movement during crow shooting operations.
All operations will be overseen by qualified personnel to ensure full compliance with the established safety controls.
The agency added that it will continue to refine and finetune risk mitigation measures before scaling up crow shooting operations.
Added Chee: "Together with the other ongoing measures such as trapping and nest removal, I hope that the resumption of shooting can help to bring down the crow population in different parts of Singapore, and provide a safer environment for our residents."
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