Guest guest Posted June 21, 2003 Report Share Posted June 21, 2003 ***************************Advertisement*************************** TechCentral http://star-techcentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my) URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2003/6/21/focus/petsx & sec=focus ________________________ Saturday, June 21, 2003 Put responsibility on pet owners WE refer to the two letters, “Regulate pet industry” and “Have a heart for animals, even strays”, (Sunday Star, June 15) on irresponsible pet ownership and the plight of strays. Unfortunate but true, the attitude of many owners to their pet animals is deplorable as can be seen by the number of stray dogs and cats on our streets today. We believe that by making it mandatory for all pet owners to neuter their pets is the only long-term solution to this problem. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been helping local councils collect strays to have them adopted or for euthanasia. Unfortunately, most are not adopted and over 95% have to be put to sleep. But even so, this is clearly a fruitless task as the number of strays continue to rise. The SPCA in Penang is now concentrating its resources on the neutering campaigns and hopes that local councils will follow suit. However, in any campaign to change prevailing attitudes, legislation plays a very important role. This is the municipal council & #8217;s responsibility as they are the authority that controls dog licensing by-laws. Suitable amendments must be made to the present by-laws to reduce and eventually eradicate the stray problem. ·Firstly, by adopting a system of “differential licensing fees” by raising fees for un-neutered dogs. This will quickly raise the percentage of neutered dogs. ·Secondly, by ensuring that all irresponsible pet owners who abandon their dogs on the streets are identified and punished. ·Thirdly, by permanently identifying all registered dogs with a microchip, without which neither of the above strategies can work effectively. This is system has already been adopted by many progressive countries, including Singapore and is also long being used by our veterinary department to monitor the importation of animals. The recent scare with SARS threat and the periodic epidemics of rabies in countries with uncontrolled stray populations should be enough reason for these measures to be implemented. Dr S.P. CHOONG, Chairman, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Penang. (via e-mail) <p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2003 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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