A Local Council In Johor Is Offering RM55 For Each Stray Caught But People Are Not Happy
It's a dog-hunting campaign.
By Tang Ruxyn — 16 Nov 2016, 03:18 PM
The Pasir Gudang Municipal Council (MPPG) is offering RM55 for each stray dog that is caught by the public
A leaflet that has been circulating on social media reveals that MPPG is organising a campaign titled 'Stray Dog Control Campaign' to eradicate stray dogs.
According to the leaflet, all residents in Pasir Gudang, Johor are welcomed to join the campaign which began on 1 November and will last until the end of the year, on 31 December.
A RM55 reward will be given under one condition: the stray must be still alive when it is brought in to the council.
It added that no one is allowed to euthanise any stray, as only MPPG has the jurisdiction to euthanise them.
However, the dog-hunting campaign has gotten public backlash
Netizens have expressed their horror over such a "cruel" campaign, claiming that MPPG will kill all of the dogs when the public bring them in.
Many of them said that there are other alternatives to eradicate stray dogs particularly through the practice of spaying and neutering dogs.
They criticised the campaign and said that the reward that is being offered to catch the strays could have been used to set up shelters or used to fund programmes to capture, spay and neuter these strays instead.
The idea also does not seemed to sit well with the Johor prince, who said that it's "very disrespectful"
"We have SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) for a reason! You don't just go around and put down dogs!" Tunku Idris Iskandar Sultan Ibrahim Ismail, of the Johor royal family, wrote on his Instagram account with the leaflet as the accompanying image.
Tunku Idris, who is known to be an animal lover ,added that "this is what happens when you invite them for a SPCA event and they don't understand Tunku Permaisuri's speech which was in English". He was referring to a speech by Johor Permaisuri Raja Zarith Sofiah Sultan Idris Shah on 28 May at an event organised by SPCA Johor Bahru, where she spoke about showing compassion towards animals.
Many netizens applauded him for speaking up on the issue. However, it is noted that the post has since been removed although the screenshot of the post has been circulating on social media.
The recent issue has reignited the topic of dog catching in Malaysia
For years, animal welfare groups and animal lovers in Malaysia have voiced out their concern and protest over the local authorities' "catch and kill" method to control the stray dog population.
They argued that the approach is futile and ineffective since it will not address the root of the problem. Critics say that new strays will eventually populate the cleared area and continue to breed, making it a never-ending cycle.
Wani Mutthiah, founder of the animal rescue group Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better told Free Malaysia Today the government should adopt a new approach when dealing with stary dogs.
She noted that dogs are a component under every local council's vector department, which is the same department that monitors rats and mosquitoes. She added that it's not unusual for some councils to offer money to its members to catch dogs, the same way it offers money to the public to get rid of pests. Therefore, she has suggested for dogs to be placed under a separate government department.
She stressed that that dogs, which are potential pets, shouldn't be treated the same way as other disease-carrying pests.