Some 25 animal lovers and representatives of civil society organisations this morning staged a protest in front of the Kuala Langat Municipal Council (MPKL) to demand authorities take action against MPKL officers for alleged abuse of over 100 dogs under their care.
This came after a video and photos of MPKL canine pound facility went viral on social media last month, showing many scrawny dogs in weak condition crammed inside dilapidated kennels.
The group, which included members of four NGOs and independent dog rescuers, questioned why the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) had not pressed charges against MPKL officers in charge of the dog pound despite its investigation that revealed that it was not up to standard set by the law.
Activists also claimed that the dereliction of duty by MPKL had led to many of the stray dogs dying, allegedly due to not being fed and cared for properly.
Dr Kartini Farah Rahim, who represented Malaysia Animal Kindness Society, told a press conference held before the peaceful protest that they believed the dogs were not fed by the council on purpose, contrary to MPKL's statement claiming that it did feed the canines twice a day.
"We want to know if this method to let dogs die from hunger has been a practice. Was it to make it easier for them to clean up the kennels? Was it to weaken the dogs so that they won't fight each other and make it easier when it comes time to euthanise the dogs?
"Or was it to save the council's budget for euthanasia? Tell us if you have enough budget to euthanise dogs, and how many dogs are you allowed to kill a year?
"We urge the Selangor DVS to finalise its investigation as soon as possible and charge in court the MPKL officers who failed to take care of the dogs. The department should inform us when they plan to bring the officers to court," she said.
Pee Kang Seng, the chairperson of Be My Protector organisation and an animal rights advocate, questioned if there is a double standard practised by the veterinary authority.
According to him, the law clearly says that anyone who does cruelty to animals can be charged in court.
"If we remember the case of several men who threw a dog into a cloth dryer, they were charged in court. Another guy who beat up a dog had also been charged.
"But why when it comes to (alleged cruelty by) government agency, the officers were not taken to court?" he said.
Early in January, MPKL reportedly came under criticism after an animal lover took photos of dogs inside its pound and shared them on social media.
Following this, the DVS had gone to the pound to investigate and issued the council a notice ordering it to improve the condition of its kennels according to requirements under the Animal Welfare Act.
MPKL in a statement on Jan 11 said that following the viral video, it has reviewed its standard operating procedures for the dog pound.
The council also denied allegations that it did not feed the impounded dogs, saying that the canines were given food twice a day.
MPKL had also handed over 110 dogs that were under its care to an NGO which had volunteered to take them under its care.
'30 died after rescue'
Meanwhile, animal lover Manjit Kaur, who was responsible for making the visual recordings at the MPKL dog pound, told Malaysiakini that over 90 of the dogs had been taken in by a temple in Johor Bahru.
However, she claimed that due to the dogs' poor health condition, 30 of them had died since they were taken from MPKL care.
"We rescued over 90 dogs using a three-tonne lorry and sent them straight to Johor Bahru. But one died while they were being loaded onto the lorry, while four others died when they were on the way to the temple.
"The next day, 15 more died because they were already in a very poor condition," she said when met during the protest.
Speaking about what she witnessed when visiting the pound, Manjit said she was shocked to see dogs as many as 25 cramped inside each kennel.
The dogs were crumpled with many having to sleep on top of each other, she claimed.
She also refuted the council's statement that the dogs were provided food twice a day, saying that the canines did not look like they had been fed.
Lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan, who is part of the group and acted as its legal representative, told the presser that they would give DVS one week to come up with a statement and take action against MPKL.
He said MPKL officers had committed dereliction of duty but none of them had been charged so far.
"This means that DVS is not doing its job. No action has been taken despite the Tuanku Permaisuri of Selangor having come out with a statement that dogs must be taken care of in Selangor.
"DVS' inaction is extremely shocking. I am shocked that DVS is not charging anyone. DVS is complicit in the torture of animals," he said.
According to Rajesh, should DVS fail to take any action, the group would consider taking those responsible to court itself. - Mkini
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