An Animal Shelter In Semenyih Is Being Accused Of Misusing Donations & Neglecting Rescues
The shelter owner has allegedly spent over RM66,000 of public donations for personal use.
By May Vin Ang — 16 Jul 2024, 05:23 PM
Independent rescuers have accused an animal shelter in Semenyih of misappropriating donations and harming animals in its care
In several Instagram posts, the whistleblowers claimed that the owner of Stray Animal Care Services, Nelson Yacob, is misusing his shelter to collect public funds for personal gain.
They also alleged that the shelter owner's negligence has resulted in the poor health and death of animals under his care.
Speaking to SAYS, one of the rescuers, Nivashini, claimed they discovered that Nelson had spent over RM66,000 of his shelter's funds in the past eight months
Examining the shelter's bank statements, they alleged that he had spent the money buying lottery tickets, playing snooker, going for massages, purchasing alcohol, and transferring cash directly to his personal account.
The independent animal rescuer said these findings came to light when the shelter owner requested for donations to help an injured cat in May. He said he urgently needed the funds to take the cat to a vet and pay for its medical bills.
However, she said suspicions arose when he announced that the cat had died a few days later, and posted another request for donations for the shelter.
In a WhatsApp group, regular donors confronted Nelson about the funds they previously contributed and asked for his bank statements for transparency.
According to Nivashini, the shelter owner surrendered his bank account details to the group, allowing her to quickly access and go through eight months' worth of statements.
After posting about the shelter's alleged misuse of donations, multiple others came forward, claiming that Nelson was also neglecting the shelter's animals
Nivashini said her friend, Devayani, had surrendered a stray dog she rescued to the shelter in March.
Nelson had agreed to take the dog in for a surrender fee of RM1,600, which he claimed would be used for neutering, vaccinations, and transportation.
However, by June, he said the dog frequently fell ill despite being healthy when Devayani dropped it off at the shelter.
When Devayani requested a video call to check on the dog's condition, he refused and said he was not obligated to respond to her requests.
He later told her that the dog had been adopted and stopped providing updates.
Nivashini said a volunteer at the shelter later sent them photos of the dog, claiming that it was kept in a parvovirus-infected cage, had contracted the disease, and died.
The volunteer also shared several other videos of dead dogs and poor conditions at the shelter, claiming that the dogs were being starved and left untreated.
The independent rescuers have since reported the incidents to the police and the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS).
However, they are hoping for swifter action to be taken.
Nivashini told SAYS that DVS officers visited the shelter in Kampung Baru Tarun, Semenyih on 5 July for an inspection.
In an initial report sighted by SAYS, DVS found that the premises did not comply with animal welfare standards and lacked a licence to operate as an animal shelter.
However, the department has only issued the premises a notice to improve its conditions, and said it will continue to monitor it periodically.
The rescuers expressed hope that the department would eventually cease Nelson's operation of the shelter and that the police would investigate him for alleged embezzlement.
In the meantime, they are urging other independent rescuers and shelters to help rehome the 40 dogs and 10 cats currently at the shelter.
SAYS has reached out to the shelter owner, who has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.
