There was a dialogue between eight animal protection NGOs and the government on Saturday, held at the MPSJ building, hosted and initiated by YB Hannah Yeoh.
The representative from the government was a YB Dr Xavier Jayakumar.
AnimalCare was invited, so, Mandy, Lucas and I went to see how we could contribute to the dialogue.
Two issues were discussed and it was about the catching of strays and the management of the pound, both of which we had no expertise in, so I thought we would just listen and learn a thing or two from those organisations which have the expertise and knowledge.
But the discussion, as expected, deviated a little to the management of strays, so I decided we would put in a request.
One and only one – just a baby step.
AnimalCare’s request to the government, as proposed to the two YBs is this: Can the local council please spare the tip-earred animals (particularly dogs) from capture? And if captured, could they please release them and return them to their respective colony?
The left tipped-ear is an internationally-recognised symbol of a spayed-neutered animal that is being managed by the community. This means, they are being looked-after. And most importantly, they will not breed anymore. So, can the local councils please spare their lives?
That’s all we asked for on Saturday, for a start. We know the government has bigger problems to tackle, so we’ll be reasonable and just ask for this one small thing.
When I first started AnimalCare, we made it a point to tip the ears of return-to-colony animals, but many rescuers were reluctant to give consent. And they had their reasons: Why subject the animal to an extra wound if the tipped ear is not recognised by our local councils? Our local councils even capture dogs with licenses, so what more those with a tipped ear?
That was perfectly true, so from making it compulsory, we resorted to getting the consent of the rescuer first. Also, some rescuers intend to rehome the animals and a tipped ear (a “defect”) might decrease the chances of getting an animal adopted.
But here’s the thing now. IF the government agrees that all tipped-earred animals will NOT be captured, we will insist on tipping the ears of all return-to-colony animals that are spayed and neutered under us.
In many other countries (even neighbouring Thailand), tip-earred animals are not captured. But there is no such legislation in Malaysia. Not yet?
Let’s wait and see then…
And hope.
Comments
12 responses to “The dialogue on Saturday”
I think the councils need to have a vet stationed at all their pounds too, so that all animals handed over to them can be examined, segregated and given medical treatment accordingly.
Not receive lock-stock-and-barrel, starve and then destroy ….
"…The custom of tormenting and killing other animals will, by degrees, harden their hearts even toward men; and they who delight in the suffering and destruction of inferior creatures, will not be apt to be very compassionate or benign to those of their own kind."
-John Locke, Some Thoughts on Education (1693)
Thank you, Anon. The full quote by Locke: "The tendency to cruelty should be watched in children and if they incline to any such cruelty, they should be taught the contrary usage. For the custom of tormenting and killing other animals will, by degrees, harden their hearts even toward man. Children should from the beginning be brought up in an abhorrence of killing or tormenting living beings."
John Locke – author, philosopher 1632 – 1704
If the hearts of adults are already hardened, then we have to start with the children. And you'll find that children are very receptive to kindness to animals. it comes quite naturally to them, because compassion is there in their hearts…before the adults destroy it and replace it with hatred and that air of human-superiority.
As raised during the dialog,
1. Most residents don't care whether the dog is neutered or not, they don't want strays roaming the neighbourhood.
2. We asked for the NGOs to identify & let us know such colonies. But all were not willing to do so. If they are willing, I will then fight for MPSJ to recognize such colonies and the tipped ears.
3. We would of course have to verify with the residents if they are okay with the presence of the colony.
Dear Rajiv,
What AnimalCare requested is not just to safeguard the neutered animals in the managed colonies. We are requesting that local councils do not capture ALL tip-earred animals anymore. Can the government please allow these animals to live out their natural lives, and educate the public that these animals will not breed anymore, and the very fact that this earth belongs to the animals as much as it belongs to us humans. Can the government please educate the public to be more tolerant and understanding, and to live and let live? We talk about a "caring society". Caring should include the animals as well. Killing them at the pounds is not a very caring act. Neither is capturing them and having them euthanised just because they roam our neighbourhood.
As revealed overseas, colony caregivers are simply not prepared to come forward and be registered as invited because it has been demonstrated in many, many instances that it exposes them and their colonies to danger and persecution from the wrong people. This world is made up of many, many different types of people. There are many, many evil ones lurking secretly in the shadows, ever ready to strike.
"A Common Bond: Maltreaded Children and Animals in the Home, Guidelines for Practice and Policy" by The Humane Society of the US and American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law in cooperation with Action For Child Protection makes the point that, to keep families safe and protect children, we need to consider the role that pets play in families.
It states that animal abuse in families is often one of the first indicators that a family needs help.
Animal abuse is a type of interpersonal violence; it often co-occurs with child abuse and other forms of family violence.
Identifying and treating animal abuse is an important tool in protecting children from abuse and neglect, while at the same time promoting the safety and well-being of both the children and their animals.
"A Common Bond" offers a framework, based on firm evidence and reasoning, in which to understand the interaction between child neglect and animal abuse.
Children, and the society in which they live, pay a high price for witnessing violence – whether the violence was directed at a parent, sibling, or pet – and too often they pay it the rest of their lives. These children are at higher risk for developing behavioral problems, failing academically, and engaging in delinquent and criminal behaviour. They also are more vulnerable to physical and psychological problems, such as drug addiction, and their consequences (Connelly, 1999; Gelles, Lackner, & Wolfner, 1994; Margolis, 1998' Osofsky, 1995)
A study found that animal abuse occured in 88% of families that were under state supervision for the physical abouse of their children (DeViney, Dickert, & Lockwood, 1983)
US State and national surveys of domestic violence victims consistently find that as many as 71% of battered women report that their male partners had threatened to or had, in fact, harmed or killed their pets (Ascione, Weber, & Wood, 1997).
The survey results also point clearly to the deleterious effect on children who witness animal abuse in families: 32% of the women with children reported that one of their children also had committed acts of animal cruelty.
The Pittsburgh Study, an ongoing longitudinal study of the causes and correlates of antisocial behaviour found that cruelty to people and animals is one of 4 factors associated with the persistence of aggressive and criminal behaviour.
One of the first symptoms of conduct disorder often is cruelty to animals. In a meta-analytic review of the symptoms of conduct disorder, cruelty to animals was considered to be one of the earliest reported symptoms, at 6.75 years of age (Frick et al., 1993).
In addition, children who are cruel to animals exhibit more severe conduct disorder problems than other children (Luk, Staiger, Wong, & Mathai, 1999)
Extracted from A Common Bond:
CONFESSIONS OF A LONER
During a discussion at a professional training for psychologists, one participant recalled that when he was 11 years old he belonged to a group of neighbourhood boys who enjoyed hanging out together. However, one boy never joined the group, even though invited – he seemed to be a "loner" by choice.
One day, the loner approached the 11-year old and, after swearing him to secrecy, confessed that he strangled cats.
The psychologist relating this story reported how conflicted he was about what to do. Eventually, he decided to guard his family cats with a BB gun. Soon after he heard the confession, another member of the group called him aside and reported that the same boy also had confessed to him about killing cats.
The two boys, torn between their desire to protect animals they knew were endangered and their vow of silence, enlarged the "protection" zone and patrolled the neighborhood, trying to keep the cats safe.
Approximately 40 years later, while organizing his high school reunion, the psychologist recalled how he had made many attempts, all ending in failure, to contact the loner.
During that time, he received a call from an individual who identified himself as an FBI agent, who told him, "This person is a serial killer and we believe he is moving between the US and Canada. If you have any informatin on him, let us know."
Extracted from "A Common Bond":
In the past 20 years, growing documentation from the fields of juvenile justice, domestic violence, child abuse prevention, and the social sciences indicates that cruelty to animals is both a predictor crime and an indicator of crime.
As a predictor of crime, animal cruelty can be the earlierst warning signal of a child or family at risk.
If detected early enough, not only may the animal be spared, but the children and family can be offered appropriate interventions.
Animal cruelty is also an indicator of crime, since it often co-occurs with other types of interpersonal violence and other crimes.
Paying attention to animal cruelty can save lives and deter criminal activity (Lockwood, 2006).
Paying attention to the situation of animals in families and the community may provide one of the first opportunities to redirect the trajectory of a child's development.
Instead of a child and family becoming more and more embedded in negative behaviour, early detection offers the possibility that the chld and family can be helped to learn skills with which they can redirect their lives in a more positive direction.
From "A Common Bond":
Until recently, many clinicians viewed animal abuse more as a symptom than a behavior to be treated directly. Cruelty to animals was not added to the list of indicators for a diagnosis of conduct disorder in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" until 1987 (DSM-III-R).
However, in the past 10 years or so, authoritative research findings that point out the link between animal abuse and human violence have been more widely disseminated to professional audiences and the public.
One result of this knowledge is that at least 28 states in the US now have provisions in their animal anti-cruelty laws that either recommend or mandate counseling for youthful offenders.
There is one published treatment program for children who either perpetrate or witness animal abuse called "AniCare Child" (Randour et al., 2001).
Developed by the Animals and Society Institute, "AniCare Child" offers practical assessment and treatment strategies for counselors and others working with at-risk children and children identified as engaging in animal cruelty.
It focuses on 2 goals of treatment – the development of self-management skills and the development of empathy – by providing exercises, projective materials, and clinical case examples.
In addition to its use with identified and at-risk children, the "AniCare Child" approach encourages all professionals working with children and families to make assessments of a child's and family's relationship to animals a routine part of any formal or informal evaluation, just as questions of substance abuse and family violence are routinely included in screenings of children and families. (see Society & Animals Forum at http://www.societyandanimalsforum.org)
"How does animal cruelty relate to other crimes" from "First Strike: The Violent Connection" by the Humane Society of the US:
One of the Washington, D.C., area snipers, Lee Boyd Malvo, has been described as a "strikingly obedient child," with one notable exception – as a child, Malvo hunted and killed cats with a slingshot.
According to published reports, Malvo once had a pet cat but grew to hate cats because his mother would beat Malvo when the cat would sleep in his bed and soil the sheets.
Whenever he saw a stray cat, he would become angry and shoot the animal.