Tackling animal welfare the right way

Much of the fodder for my column today centres around recent happenings involving stray animals in our environment.

I think there is plenty for us to learn from these experiences in how best to deal with the problem in a safe, humane and effective way. 

A little over a week ago, the Tanjong Malim District Council (MDTM) shocked us all when they announced their launching of a 10-day campaign to eradicate stray dogs in their area.

What particularly got people and animal lovers upset were some of the rules and methods used in the stray management effort.  

The local council was encouraging the public to get involved in the dog-catching exercise.

This may have been seen at first as a "very clever idea" by whomever it was that came up with it – thinking that it was anifty way of getting all the locals involved in the campaign.

However, for those of us who know better, it was a recipe for disaster in getting the public bitten by stray dogs for sure!

It's a totally different kettle of fish from trapping rats in a cage!

One needs to not only be professionally trained for such skills, but also be properly equipped with the right tools to attempt any confrontation with a wild dog. 

Seemingly friendly dogs that are tricked and caught in this way can suddenly turn aggressive (even if they were not that way at first) in a desperate attempt to escape.

Although it was good that the MDTM had insisted that only dogs that were alive would qualify for the RM10 reward by the council, it wasn't foolproof of cruelty loopholes.

There was every chance for inexperienced "dogcatchers" to injurethe animals – and themselves – while attempting to catch them.

Then, there was also another grave concern.

Legitimate pet owners were worried that their dogs could be stolen by others in order to make some money from the campaign.

Fortunately for everyone, the MDTM quickly came to its senses. It called off the campaign just before it started.

This was after a sea of protests had reached the council from the social media.

It was, without a doubt, a thumping victory for animal welfare and rights activism in the country.

Not to mention, having a sensitive and caring council like the MDTM for doing the right thing – and seriously reconsidering their campaign at the eleventh hour in the interest of animal lives.

However, the problem of the growing number of strays hasn't gone away. It is still staring at MDTM right in the face.

Instead of coming up with knee-jerk reactions – like the recent campaign from time to time to only manage to treat the symptoms of the stray dog problems in our society – it's time to get to the root cause.

My experience of working with stray management issues with the 12 local councils in Selangor when I was councillor has shown me that the best way to tackle the issue is to take on a holistic approach.    

A stray management committee needs to be set up in each and every local council. A special fund should be given to support the committees' activities.

All the relevant departments from the local council such as the enforcement to the environment and health must be present.

Outside sources should include the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) and even the Wildlife Department (for time to time advice).

Animal welfare representatives from nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) which include private veterinarian associations should also make up part of the team.

The meetings should be held at least once a month in order to get some good work going. The committee should cover everything from pet education and responsible pet ownership to spaying and setting up an animal pound which practises humane animal treatment according to the DVS' standards.

All dogs caught should be given the right and chance to be adopted in the pounds. As a responsible and humane pound, euthanasia should be the last and kind resort for animals that fail the adoption process.

The good news in this development is that a local council in Selangor has agreed to set up such a committee in July, next month.

Whilst I am not at liberty to announce which council it is, they will do it themselves when they are launched.

A few animal NGOs together with mine – Petpositive – were invited to a special meeting about 10-days ago where they raised up the problems which they face with stray animals.

We were treated to a slide presentation to an alarming number of complaints they receive about dogs from the public and saw pictures of how they responded to each complaint.

And finally, more good news!

Malaysia's Animal Welfare Act 2015 is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament and debated in the middle of next week.

It carries a punishment on animal cruelty of not less than RM20,000 and not more than RM100,000 and a three-year jail sentence or both for offenders.

Another positive aspect of the draft Bill is that the shooting of dogs and cats is prohibited unless it is authorised by a veterinarian during an emergency situation, or for the purpose of disease control.           

"Although what is most significant about the Bill is that it will no doubt send a very strong message to would-be animal abusers of the future, but what is really important is that the Act must be enforced once it comes into power – otherwise, it is just a piece ofplain paper," said N. Surendran, who is expected to be the first to start the debate on it in Parliament. Surendran is Padang Serai MP.

When the Animal Welfare Act 2015 is passed in the Dewan Rakyat next week, it will then go to the Dewan Negara before it becomes official – a process which could take two months. – June 8, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.