THE Selangor government will review the catch and kill approach to handling stray dogs following a royal rebuke by the state’s Tengku Permaisuri.
Malaysiakini reported state local government exco Ng Suee Lim as hailing Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin’s advice for a more humane approach after she had voiced her dismay and disappointment on Monday (April 1) over Shah Alam City Council’s (MBSA) planned task force exercise to capture and eliminate 500 stray dogs in the township.
This included recruiting volunteers who would be paid RM30 for each dog caught.
A notice circulated on social media also stated that the dogs would be culled.
“The Selangor government will review the catch and kill approach being used now that created controversy,” Ng told the news portal.
“An excellent suggestion by Her Royal Highness to expand the use of spaying and preparing more shelters for strays in certain residential areas as well as to get cooperation from residents and animal lovers to create a more loving and civilised community.”
Following backlash, MBSA announced in a statement on March 30 that the dogs would be cared for and fed by the council before being surrendered to the Paws Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) for further action.
It also said the council had acted on more than 400 complaints of disturbance caused by stray dogs between Jan and March 19 this year.
In a statement on Monday Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin said she had repeatedly stressed that she disagree with the “catch-and-kill” approach by any local authorities, saying there are many more methods which can be used to curb the problem, including by neutering.
Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin also suggested that apart from expanding neutering programmes, local councils can also create shelters for stray animals in each neighbourhood, with the cooperation of animal-loving residents.
“Local councils should also make it mandatory for housing developers to construct or prepare such shelters,” she said.
She said at present, Selangor SPCA together with Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Veterinary Medicine Faculty, Malaysian Veterinary Medical Association (MAVMA) and Malaysian Small Animal Veterinary Association (MSAVA) are actively conducting the “Potong Royong” neutering programme for cats and dogs.
She said since it began in March 2023, a total of 1,626 animals have been neutered under the programme to control the stray population. – April 2, 2024
Main pic credit: The Star
