SHAH ALAM: Yet another case of animal cruelty has been reported in Shah Alam, and this time it's about a stray dog that was brutally killed for its meat.
The act was caught on camera by two witnesses who were out feeding strays near Persiaran Elmina, when they saw a group of Indonesian men brutally hitting a stray dog in the head with a parang and a piece of wood.
The dog, while half dead, was later thrown into a fire and cooked.
The witnesses posted the video online, which caught the attention of Malaysian Animal Welfare Association founder Mukunnan Sugumaran, before it was taken down.
Mukunnan, who spoke to the witnesses, said there were about 20 men at the scene, but when they began recording, some hid behind trees while others stayed behind to continue eating.
“The witnesses spoke to the men and were told that it was a norm for them to have two to three dogs per feast, or cats,” he said adding that the group of men lived at a nearby palm oil estate.
The witnesses and Mukunnan have reported the incident to the Sungai Buloh District Police HQ and the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) on Aug 28.
“In the association’s report, we listed demands from the authorities.
"We want the authorities to take action against the men who brutally murdered the dog before it was consumed.
"We also asked that DVS exempt cats and dogs as consumable animals as it is currently not against the law to consume them.”
The case, Mukunnan said, should focus on the treatment of the animal before it was consumed, as there were proper procedures and locations for slaughtering animals.
The association also urged their followers on social media to make similar reports to push authorities to investigate the case.
Mukunnan said this was not the first case he had encountered.
“There was a case in Johor where a Vietnamese lady was selling dog meat, but we don’t know the process before the meat was sold for consumption.
"There were also other reports, but we did not have any photography or video evidence of animal cruelty,” he said.
Kelvin Raj, one of the founders of Dogs of Denai Alam, said he suspected the case could be related to reports of stray dogs found with severed limbs early this month.
“It is possible that traps were placed to catch the strays, and the dogs we found could have been victims,” he said adding that the current case was about 2km-3km away from Denai Alam.
“With it being so close, they could be related but we aren’t not sure.”
Subscribe or renew your subscriptions to win prizes worth up to RM68,000!
