The shocking case of 54 white mice left abandoned along Pasir Ris Drive 4 is being investigated by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore. The mice are currently under the care of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which is treating the case as pet abandonment.
SPCA also said that the animals are not the typical stray rodents, but pinky mice, which are generally used in laboratory tests and to feed other animals, reported the Channel News Asia.
The horde of mice, which had both young and old, female and male among them, were spotted by the road by Karen Teng - a Pasir Ris resident on Tuesday. She, with the help of other passersby, rounded up all the mice in a box.
The tedious act took them almost two hours. "I think it is a cruel thing to just leave them by the road... We were so worried some of them would get on the road and end up being run over by cars...There are also joggers - and this place is quite dark - we were afraid that joggers might unwittingly step on them," Teng told Channel News Asia.
The local also expressed concerns about the possible health hazards. She said: "If the mice were left here, exposed to the elements, sooner or later they would die. And all these little carcasses would become bloated, maggots would come, flies would come...My worry is that with time, heat and weather, the carcass would emit smell or even poisonous fumes."
The news website also reported that next day when its staff went there, they spotted several dead mice on the grass. What was more shocking that there was a pet bedding on the grass and a trail of bread.
Another jogger said that she saw two people acting suspiciously around the area at around 9.15pm on Tuesday, reported the media outlet.
In Singapore, punishment for pet abandonment is quite harsh. If convicted the miscreant, in a case of first-time offence, can be jailed up to a year and a fine of up to S$10,000.
