KLANG: Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin has spoken out against Shah Alam City Council’s (MBSA) plans to conduct a stray dog hunt from April 22-24.
In a statement posted on the Selangor Royal Office Facebook page yesterday, the Tengku Permaisuri said she was saddened to read about the council’s plans to catch street dogs.
“I have many times emphasised that I strongly disagree with the catch-and-destroy method by any local authority, including MBSA,” Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin said in her post, where she added there are other ways to manage the stray population, such as by neutering.
Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin suggested that, apart from a widespread neutering programme, local authorities could also establish shelters for strays in every housing area with the help of the locality’s animal lovers.
“Local councils must make it compulsory for housing developers to construct shelters such as this.’’
The Tengku Permaisuri added it was time the relevant authorities scrutinised again the Local Government Development Ministry circular on the standard operating procedure for the culling of stray dogs to make it more relevant to the current situation.
“I truly hope that efforts to take care of the welfare of stray animals will continue and are not merely a temporary measure,” said the Tengku Permaisuri.
Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, who is the patron of the SPCA’s Stray Free Selangor (SFS) initiative, added that she wanted local councils to look for new ways that are more holistic in handling strays.
The MBSA recently announced plans for a dog hunt that would include volunteers from the targeted areas, among which are Setia Utama 1, Alam Nusantara, Setia Eco Park, Suria Hill, Setia Prima, and Setia Taipan, as well as commercial areas in Setia Prima and Setia Indah, with all dogs being euthanised.
Following backlash from animal groups, MBSA said that the dogs will be sent to Paws Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), where they will be kept for a stipulated time to be claimed.
However, PAWS said it had no part in the exercise and would not accept any canines caught in the dog hunt.
Meanwhile, the founder of AnimalCare Society, which is one of the earliest organisations to subsidise the neutering of street animals, Dr Chan Kah Yein, said she was grateful for the Tengku Permaisuri’s timely intervention.
“We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin for her very kind and timely advice to all local councils on the management of street animals.
“We hope the local authorities will put the Tengku Permaisuri Selangor’s advice into practice, and we look forward to seeing more compassionate methods of dealing with this issue in the near future,’’ said Chan.
