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KAJANG: A group of residents and members of two NGOs gathered today in front of the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) building to protest against the alleged mistreatment of captured stray dogs by council officials.
This comes after a video and image were shared on Facebook of stray dogs detained by officers who were allegedly left in trucks without food or water.
The posts, which were allegedly taken outside Kajang Stadium in the dark, showed several stray dogs huddled in two trucks with the words “Majlis Perbandaran Kajang” on them.
Malaysia’s Independent Animal Rescue (MIAR) and Animal Rights Advocates delivered a memorandum to the council, urging it to launch an investigation into the matter and take action against the officers involved.
MPKj representative Mohd Alizam Ali said the council cannot provide comment on the matter at this time.
“We will take a look at the memorandum before calling a meeting to discuss the next course of action,” he said.
Animal rights activist and MIAR founder Puspa Rani Thanabalasingam said she had submitted a similar report to the council 10 years ago on the alleged abuse of stray dogs, which led to the construction of a kennel.
He urged anyone who comes across dog hunters who abuse stray dogs to record videos or take photos and forward them to MIAR.
Lawyers for Animal Rights members Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Sohanpal said it was unlikely that council officials would have complied with the SOPs by capturing and jailing the dogs.
Rajesh said standard operating procedures for trapping stray animals should be posted on the council’s website for public access.
He also said that the limited space in the trucks could cause the dogs to become enraged and attack each other, as they were territorial animals by nature.
Sachpreetraj noted that several animal welfare organizations had proposed the “catch, neuter and release” method for stray dogs several years ago, but had not acted on it.
He also urged the Department of Veterinary Services to investigate the matter, as it has the authority to do so.
