The 10th of November 2010 will indeed be a day to remember.
Dato Dr Abd. Aziz, the Director General of The Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) convened a meeting in Putrajaya with several animal welfare groups (NGOs) with a view to discuss the shooting of dogs in the country. The meeting was triggered off by the shooting of a therapy dog belonging to an elderly lady in Ipoh several days prior.
 Photo Credit : Petpositive
The following NGOs’ representatives were in attendance :-
Dato Dr Mohd Nordin, Chairman of the Malaysian National Animal Welfare Foundation (MNAWF)
Mr Anthony Thanasayan of PetPositive
Dr Lim and Quinera from The Selangor SPCA
Dr Ranjit Kaur and Linda from Noah’s Ark
Dr Goh Hue Lang and Judy Lim from The ISPCA
Several senior officers including Dr Quaza Nizamuddin, the State Director of D V S Perak were also present.
Dr Aziz addressed the Meeting touching on many aspects on pets and animals alike and on the fact that the shooting of dogs was “a madness” and should no longer be acceptable as times have changed and owners were now more aware of their responsibilities. Throughout the Meeting, many gory incidents of dog shootings and cruelty were narrated.
Dr Aziz said that shooting of animals will only be deemed necessary in emergency situations, for example the JE virus outbreak where eventually thousands of pigs had to be put down to prevent any danger to the public and to control the virus’ outbreak. He further said that if any shooting of dogs is to be carried out it should only be done with the D V S’s approval and under its close supervision.
Mr Anthony Thanasayan from Petpositive said that many of the city councillors were not knowledgeable about veterinary matters and requested the D V S to spearhead the implementation of much needed changes and policies. As it is the elderly lady from Ipoh is now very depressed and seemed unwilling to want to go on with life.
Dato Nordin from MNAWF also touched on many aspects of pet ownership and raised many questions and gave numerous positive suggestions as well. Much of his words actually echoed the sentiments of every animal lover.
Dr Goh told the Meeting that The ISPCA had met up with the City Council of Ipoh many times over two decades in their attempts to put an end to dog shooting but have met with zero success.
Dr Goh and Dr Ranjit further brought up the matter of the inhumane and ghastly slaughter of dogs and puppies and the sale of their meat openly in various areas. Dr Aziz requested that info on the matter be provided to the relevant state D V S for their investigation.
Dr Aziz said he is aware that the current laws regarding animal welfare are inadequate and undefined in many areas and these give the law enforcers little clout in dealing with animal cruelty and animal welfare matters. Nevertheless, he said that the Government through its relevant departments and the D V S are in the process of expediting the formulating of the Animal Welfare Act. Dr Aziz informed that the Act has been targeted to be tabled in Parliament earliest by the end of next year.
Dr Aziz expressed the D V S’s heartfelt grief and sympathy to the elderly lady for the loss of her beloved dog. He went further to describe the incident as a “senseless killing”.
We at The ISPCA too would like to express our profound sadness over the incident …. nothing can ever bring the elderly woman’s beloved dog back to life (as was so rightly said by Dr Aziz). But the only consolation we can think of right now is that Spunk did NOT die in vain. He will live on as a Hero in the hearts of millions of animal lovers. He had performed the ultimate sacrifice ….. he died so that the longstanding hideous subject of dog shooting could finally be addressed at national level by lawmakers.
Rest in peace dear Spunk ……. we love you and will always remember you!
Last but not least, The ISPCA, on behalf of all its members would like to express our deepest thanks to The D V S especially Dato Dr Aziz for having the courage and compassion to initiate the much-needed changes finally for the benefit of our animal community.
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