Kajang, PJ deny abuse of stray animals

SEVERAL local councils, alleged to have housed stray dogs in vans or trucks without food or water, have denied any wrongdoing or acts of animal cruelty.

Kajang Municipal Council and Ampang Jaya Municipal Council responded to claims by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) yesterday that the two councils, as well as the Klang Municipal Council had done so only due to their lack of a proper dog pound.

Acknowledging the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council had no dog pound in which to house captured strays, council deputy president Abd Hamid Hussain told Malay Mail that dogs with collars and tags, as well as those believed to be owned, are isolated and delivered to the SPCA for collection by their owners.

The rest, he said, were indeed kept in a van, but for no longer than a day until the council dog catchers, operated by a private company, take the dogs to be euthanised in Klang.

“For dogs with no licences or do not belong to anyone, we have the right to catch and euthanise them,” Abd Hamid said, adding the dogs were provided with food and water.

Kajang council corporate communications and public relations head Shariman Mohd Nor also acknowledged the council housed its stray dogs in council trucks but denied it was because the council lacked its own pound.

Shariman explained: “We do have a pound near Kajang Hospital, but it is used only for house-owned dogs that we catch, the ones with licences, collars and tags.”

He claimed the stray dogs are taken first to the SPCA before council officers put the remaining
dogs to sleep.

“The dogs are provided with food and water in the evenings when they are kept in the truck, before they are euthanised. The longest the dogs are kept in trucks is eight hours,” he said, but could not say exactly how long strays are kept before being put down.

“You must understand, these strays can be wild and dangerous to the public and animal lovers can say we should do this and that. But when there is an attack on humans, they all keep quiet.”