SINGAPORE - After close to two decades of advocating for wildlife and caring for them at Acres, Ms Anbarasi Boopal has packed up her bags to take a break.

The 42-year-old officially stepped down as co-chief executive of Acres, a wildlife rescue group on April 30.

She hopes to take some time off in the next few months, but told The Straits Times she next hopes to work on policies on welfare of farmed animals.

“Nature makes me feel at peace, so the peace is lost when I see nature suffering,” she said in an interview on April 21 at Acres Wildlife Rescue Centre in Sungei Tengah. “When I see animals suffering, I find it very unfair.”

Ms Boopal is known among the nature community for her passion for animals and her deep conviction in advocating for their rights, giving talks on human-wildlife coexistence, and taking part in biodiversity events.

No animal is too small or unimportant, and she has spoken up for all sorts of creatures, from well-loved pangolins, to the pythons and pigeons that many people complain about.

She has also contributed to efforts to tackle the illegal wildlife trade in Singapore.

For example, she oversaw the repatriation of 51 illegally trafficked Indian star tortoises back to India in 2018. The tortoises, coveted for their star-patterned shells, were rescued from a variety of places in Singapore such as homes and even the briefcases of smugglers.

She also helped to expose the trade in alleged tiger parts being illegally sold in jewellery shops here in 2010.

Her journey with Acres started in 2005, when she was still a graduate student pursuing a master of science in environmental management from NUS.

Ms Boopal - more affectionately known as Anbu - had found an Indian star tortoise that was being kept illegally in a backyard, and informed Acres about it.

She had assumed that Acres, which was formed in 2001, had a rescue centre where the tortoise could be kept under the right conditions. The humid environment in Singapore was not conducive for an animal usually found in drier conditions, she said.

But when Mr Louis Ng, the Acres founder, came to pick up the tortoise the next day, Ms Boopal said she was shocked to find out that there was no rescue centre in Singapore. Soon after, she began volunteering at Acres.