KUALA LUMPUR —An overhaul is needed to the way local councils handle strays, a coalition of animal rights groups said when handing over a memorandum to Parliament to protest animal cruelty today.
Brought together over the shooting of a friendly stray dog named Kopi by the Besut municipal council recently, the 32 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) today called for reforms to the Animal Welfare Act 2015, and for the adoption of the trap, neuter and release (TNR) method by councils nationwide.
“The way they (councils) catch strays, feed them, dispose of them, are all done the wrong way.
“They catch strays by choking them, they don’t feed them properly, there’s no food in the pound, they torture them, they shoot them, they use very cruel methods,” said Sashi Kumar, president of Persatuan Haiwan Terbiar Malaysia (SAFM), one of the groups which signed the memorandum.
The protestors also questioned the role of the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) and why it seemed unable to develop rules to ensure councils took proper care of strays’ welfare.
In their memorandum to Parliament, the groups said the Act must be amended to explicitly prohibit cruel treatment of strays and this should include shooting, poisoning and harsh capture methods, such as choking, dragging, or using metal hooks.
TNR should be mandated as the primary method of controlling stray animal populations and should be implemented in partnership with recognised animal welfare NGOs. TNR can be implemented in phases, the memorandum added.
The groups also called for an independent Animal Welfare Board to be established to oversee local authorities’ compliance with human practices, and to address complaints of cruelty.
With TNR in place, animal pounds run by local councils should then adopt a “no-kill” policy and prioritise rehabilitation and adoption of stray animals.
Euthanasia should only be conducted in cases of severe illness and untreatable conditions, verified by an independent veterinarian, the memorandum said.
Besides several other recommendations, the document called for substantial penalties, including fines and imprisonment for animal cruelty, through amendments to the Animal Welfare Act.
Among the MPs who received the memorandum from the groups outside Parliament this morning were Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department M. Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat-PH), Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri (Bera-BN) and Lee Chean Chung (Petaling Jaya-PH).
Inside the Dewan Rakyat, Chong Zhemin (Kampar-PH) and Yuneswaran Ramaraj (Segamat-PH) also said they met the groups to receive their memorandum.
Kopi the stray dog was shot dead in Besut, Terengganu in early October by the district’s municipal council. The shooting ignited anger on social media, after local residents shared that Kopi had been a friendly stray and was well known for a TikTok reel showing him playing with a kitten.
More recently, a video showing crying puppies thrown into a pit filled with dog carcasses has gone viral, allegedly in Sitiawan, Perak, with claims made that this was the method used by local council officers there to control the stray population. – November 12, 2024
