I was on my way to watch a jazz performance this evening when I received a forwarded whatsapp from a friend with a very disturbing video. It was about the dogs at the Kuala Langat pound. Of course the news was very disturbing and extremely sad.
I trust all of you would have seen the video by now. While waiting for the performance to start, I managed to alert a few friends about it and discussed how we can help those poor dogs.
Apparently, thanks to the viralling of the video and news, the Kuala Langat council has issued a press release.
Here it is: KENYATAAN MEDIA PENGURUSAN ANJING DI MAJLIS PERBANDARAN KUALA LANGAT
A few pertinent points for everyone to think about.
1. How can we stop people from complaining? The councils only act when there are complaints. They have no choice. It’s their job. It’s the law. We have to stop people from complaining, but how? Please let’s brainstorm.
2. Neuter, neuter, neuter to control the breeding and the numbers. We must really promote neutering. But neutering alone isn’t enough. There has to be follow-up care as well. If the neutered animals are left to wander and roam, they can still be caught when there are complaints. This is why the C=Care and M=Manage in CNRM is so important. If the neutered animals are fed, at least the chances of them becoming a “nuisance” will be reduced. For example, if they are fed, they chances of them foraging for food will be reduced. Last time, we weren’t so strict in giving our neutering aid, and when we asked for updates, very often we would hear applicants saying something like, “Don’t know where they are now, maybe caught by council.” This is why we now insist that caregivers who apply for our aid must continue caring for the animals…for life.
3. There has to be responsible pet ownership. Many strays are actually abandoned pets or off-spring of abandoned pets. Pet dumping is, unfortunately, still happening in our country. This has to stop as well.
We have to think of ways to control the number of strays on the street and ways to stop people from complaining. The two go hand in hand.