This is just plain cruel!
A video of a man shooting a stray dog in a housing estate in Ipoh has gone viral, aggravating animal lovers all over the country. The Star reported that the Ipoh council worker shot the dog twice whilst a resident begged him to stop shooting it.
It is believed that the resident who pleaded the council worker to stop shooting the poor dog was feeding it on a daily basis. You can watch the disturbing video here.
According to independent animal rescuer Joanne Low, this is “a clear propagation of cruelty against dogs”. She then added that killing stray dogs to control the population is a failed method.
Source: Facebook
Joanne was quoted by The Star as saying,
“It is creating an impression that it’s okay to torture dogs. That is probably why we have people poisoning and torturing dogs.”
“If the method is efficient, the number of street dogs should have decreased by now instead of increasing.”
Additionally, Malaysian Animal Welfare Association founder Mukunnan Sugumaran said that our authorities should look for other ways to control the population of street dogs.
Mukunnan suggested that the authorities should adopt the Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage (TNRM) method, which is a method often practised by animal welfare groups.
Source: Facebook
Besides that, he pointed out that it is pretty ironic that the Animal Welfare Act 2015, which is supposed to protect animals, allows local councils and private dog-catching companies to shoot as well as torture stray dogs upon capture.
In the meantime, the adoption coordinator of Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better Christine Lai said that authorities must understand the environment of the street animals.
In addition to that, she said that through the TNRM method, dogs will be vaccinated for parvovirus and distemper. On top of that, they (the dogs) will also be given the rabies vaccine.
“When an area is cleared of street dogs, a vacuum is created, and animals from elsewhere will move in to take the place of those that have been removed.”
“Given that the animals will be fed and monitored by rescuers and some residents, and they have also been neutered, they will not be a nuisance as there isn’t a need for them to mate or rummage for food.”
Christine elaborated that dogs which have been vaccinated against rabies will help prevent the disease from spreading. Therefore, the authorities don’t have to kill the dogs, an action which only angers the people.
Source: Facebook
This surely not the right way to deal with the growing population of street dogs and the risk of rabies. Perhaps, as suggested by the above animal activists, the authorities should adopt TRNM method to curb this issue.
Having said that, if you want to lodge a report against animal abuse, you can reach out to the Department of Veterinary Services via email (pro@dvs.gov.my) and/or WhatsApp (019-2242233).
On that note, share your thoughts on this issue in the comments below!
Also read: Woman Finds Out Her Cat is Being Abused for 1 Hour by Roommate Via CCTV Live Footage
