AUGUST 2022

I’ve been thinking a lot about the millions of wild animals that filled the plains of the world in times gone by. And it’s made me wonder why there’s this big need to cull farm animals now, if we don’t have the wild population anymore. According to an article in the Guardian, African wildlife declined by 60 percent between 1970 and 1995. Surely, then, animals in general (and their emissions!) are on the decline. For 1.9 million years (according to history.com) we have been innately hunter-gatherers – around the same time we became homo erectus . (It’s a good thing they’ve changed our name since then!). So, I don’t understand what’s being done to farms in many parts of the world. If we – as in the human race – can’t farm the land, then what are we? Yes, there are gorgeous tracts of wild land we can visit, but being able to make a living from the land is very special. If you are feeling it’s all a bit crazy too, and you need to head off to some wild (or wildish!) land to unwind, we have a couple of options for you to read about in this issue; the forests and lakes of Victoria in Australia, and the jungles and seas of Sarawak. A big welcome to any newcomers! Keep an eye on our website, expatliving.sg, for loads of things to do here locally and in the region. There’s always plenty on. Happy 57th birthday to Singapore this month – it’s a city I think we are very lucky to be able to live in. As usual, I have been enjoying all the Saturday night practices for National Day. Is it still okay to be a motorhead and love fighter jets and fireworks?

REBECCA BISSET Editor-in-Chief

Have an awesome August!

According to Wikipedia, there used to be 60 million wild bison in North America. Now there are around 30,000. Surely the world has plenty of scope for more animals!

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AUGUST2022