IPOH: The Perak government should have large scale campaigns at farms, factories, and construction sites to make it compulsory for owners to neuter dogs in a move to curb issues of strays.
Noah’s Ark Ipoh founder Dr Ranjit Kaur Mendhir said there were many farms all over the state where lots of dogs were kept to guard the properties.
The veterinarian said not only farms, but factories as well as construction sites were filled with stray dogs.
“For construction sites, the government should take a deposit from the contractors to ensure that the dogs kept at the site are neutered.
“Factory owners could carry out their corporate social responsibility by neutering and feeding the strays,” she said.
Dr Ranjit said not only must neutering be emphasised, but all pet owners, or those who kept dogs at their farms, factories or construction sites must also vaccinate these animals against rabies.
She said in the case of a rabies outbreak, it would be a safer scenario because then most dogs have been vaccinated already.
She said it would be an even better idea if owners of farms, factories and construction sites could adopt already neutered dogs from animal shelters or from Noah’s Ark itself.
On the suggestion by the housing and local government committee chairman Sandrea Ng Shy Ching in encouraging the setting up of more non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help curb the issue of stray dogs and cats, Dr Ranjit said it was difficult to manage big shelters due to financial, time and staff constraints.
However she said it would be feasible if feeders were provided with small pockets of land at residential areas for them to manage between five and six dogs.
“Noah’s Ark, however, fosters dogs in our own homes at the moment. Shelters when there is a lack of money and staff, it can be difficult to run.
“Noah Ark’s has been neutering strays since 2011, and every month between 30 and 35 dogs are neutered, with funds contributed from Yayasan Hasanah,” she said.
Dr Ranjit said she was certain that animal NGOs were willing to work together with the state’s Perak Pawsitive Initiative, which aims to neuter strays, if the NGOs were approached.
“I appreciate the efforts taken by Ng. She must also emphasise the importance of licensing enforcement.
“Operations must be carried out by the enforcement teams at housing areas to ensure pet owners comply with the regulations of neutering and licensing their fur babies,” she added.
Ipoh Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) president Ricky Soong said a total of 10,000 strays have been neutered in the past seven years.
He said the Trap-Neuter-Release-Manage (TNRM) programme ISPCA had with the Ipoh City Council had to be stopped in April this year.
"The council no longer allowed the neutered dogs to be released back to the streets, and thus ISPCA had to discontinue the programme.
Soong said the idea to have more NGOs to set-up shelters was not feasible, as the existing NGOs were already finding it difficult to raise funds, and to get manpower.
“I have done everything from shelters, neutering to raising funds, believe me it is not an easy task.
“You expect people to donate money almost monthly for fundraisers by different NGOs? That will not happen,” he said.
Soong said TNRM was the only effective long-term strategy to reduce the number of strays, but stricter enforcement was implemented following increasing public complaints about strays, and thus the city council started rounding up animals, including dogs with red collars.
“Of course if there are cases of aggressive dogs, that is a different scenario to be tackled, but if the dogs are harmless, they should be allowed back on the streets.
“For me the only solution is TNRM to reduce the number of strays. Suggesting more NGOs to be set-up is easier said than done,” he added.
On Nov 13, Ng had said that the Perak government is encouraging the setting up of more NGOs to help curb the issue of stray dogs and cats.
She had said that there should be such NGOs throughout the state, and she hoped more animal lovers and individuals would form such organisations wherever possible.
“It is crucial to have such organisations in every area so that they can work with the local authorities more effectively,” she had said.
