FWD: SPCA hopes for a stray-free country by 2010

December 21, 2004

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Tuesday December 21, 2004

SPCA hopes for a stray-free country by 2010

By HILARY CHIEW

We pride ourselves on being a caring society. But if we go by the statistics of

companion animals put to sleep by the Selangor Society for the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), that feel-good notion has a hollow ring to it.

Brace yourself for this: SPCA puts down an average of 1,200 cats and dogs every

month. And these are not even sickly or injured animals.

Last year, 11,640 cats and dogs were put to sleep, 76% of this being puppies

and kittens.

Due to its open-intake policy, the society’s animal shelter in Ampang Jaya,

Kuala Lumpur, accepts unwanted cats and dogs left at its doorstep. The centre

also operates a pick-up service which responds to reports from the public of

abandoned animals in their neighbourhood.

Chairman Christine Chin readily admits that this is not an effective way to

overcome the problem of strays.

“It is ineffective because we’ve inevitably become the convenient dumping

ground for unwanted pets by irresponsible owners. It has always been like this –

people send the animals in, we put them down,” sighs Chin, adding that being the

visible part of SPCA’s work over the years, the shelter attracts the most

attention, albeit for the wrong reason.

The 0.4ha facility often exceeds its carrying capacity of 400 animals. The

endless stream of abandoned animals means that space has to be cleared to

accommodate newcomers. Those that have “outlived” their chances of being adopted

have to be put down to make way for the new arrivals.

It is an endless and futile cycle of accepting, and eventually disposing of the

animals with a lethal jab.

<b>Stray-free</b>

The Selangor SPCA, set up in 1958 with the aim of protecting and alleviating

suffering in animals, is trying to emulate the strategies of other chapters

elsewhere in finding a viable solution to the problem.

Other SPCAs like those in the United States, Hong Kong and Indonesia are moving

away from their traditional role of sheltering abandoned animals and putting

responsibility on the owners and local authorities which regulate

animal-keeping.

The change in direction of the world’s SPCAs is based on the No-Kill principle

mooted by animal welfare organisations in developed countries.

In line with the international movement, the Selangor SPCA is advocating the

concept of responsible pet ownership to control the population of strays and

discourage owners from dumping unwanted animals at its doorstep.

To ease the pressure on animal shelters, the SPCA has launched an ambitious

campaign to make the country stray-free by 2010. Though a tall order, Chin

reckons this is achievable as the SPCA is putting the necessary infrastructure

and protocol in place.

Together with KL City Hall, the SPCA is operating the first low-cost

sterilisation clinic in Asia. Called Klinik Kembiri (kembiri means spay in

Malay), it has spayed and neutered a total of 1,736 animals since April last

year.

Spaying and neutering animals would go a long way in curbing unwanted

pregnancies and abandonment which compound the problem of strays, says Chin.

As stray dogs had been the main concern of KL City Hall, in 2002 the SPCA

initiated a one-year pilot project offering affordable de-sexing services and

successfully sterilised 700 dogs. Due to the popularity of the services, SPCA

has been working in partnership with KL City Hall since.

It charges RM50 for a cat and RM70 for a dog plus an additional RM15 for

post-operation medication and a prescribed diet. The subsidised rate is aimed at

the lower- and middle-income groups that could ill-afford private clinic fees

which range from RM250 to RM350, depending on the location and size of the

animals.

Clinic manager G.R. Krishnan says the success of the clinic makes it a model to

be replicated by other local councils. So far the Subang Jaya and Klang

municipal councils have shown keen interest in setting up a similar clinic in

their municipalities.

Krishnan says that initially sterilisation was shunned by most Muslims but a

statement from the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) in July 2002 assured

them that the practice was in line with Islamic teachings as it concerned the

health and welfare of the animals and the community they lived in.

The SPCA is also promoting early age neutering (EAN) on three-month-old

females. EAN is a technique which has been adopted by veterinarians in the

animal welfare protection movement worldwide. It is touted as the solution to

unplanned births by young animals as owners are often clueless as to when their

pets become sexually mature. Young animals also tend to heal faster from the

wound and the procedure is simpler.

<b>Animal welfare</b>

As an added incentive for dog owners, the SPCA has called for a lower licence

fee: as low as RM10 for a neutered dog and as high as RM50 for an unsterilised

canine.

The society will also lobby for the licensing conditions to include mandatory

sterilisation and micro-chipping to assist in identification of the owner when a

pet is abandoned. Owners should also be compelled to undergo a pet ownership

course.

In the long run, it makes economic sense too as local councils are currently

paying contractors to catch stray dogs, maintain dog pounds to house captured

canines and putting unclaimed dogs to sleep. DBKL catches 8,000 dogs a year at a

cost of RM25 per animal.

In terms of public health, authorities like the Department of Veterinary

Services and local councils should also be wary of the growing population of

ferals (semi-wild dogs and cats) that are produced among strays as these are

potential reservoirs of viral diseases.

Strays essentially reflect the absence of animal welfare in a society.

SPCA cruelty investigator Sabrina Yeap says when animals are turned out into

the streets by their owners, they would almost certainly be abused, starved,

diseased or killed.

The SPCA aims to shift its focus gradually to inspectorate work – investigating

cruelty cases and bringing about prosecution which has been rare until lately.

As part of the stray-free campaign, Yeap says the SPCA is lobbying for

effective animal legislation.

“We had long proposed for the Animal Ordinance Act 1953 to be amended. It

should incorporate animal abandonment as an offence to curb irresponsible pet

ownership that has created all these problems,” says Yeap.

Yeap says the amendments should include a broader definition of cruelty to

include ill-suited shelter, short leash, unhygienic conditions and contaminated

food.

The society is collecting petitions to press for a higher fine for cruelty to

animals, from the maximum RM200 to RM10,000 per offence, increasing the jail

term from six months to two years and a life ban from keeping animals. The

petition, started in May, has collected 25,000 signatures. The SPCA hopes to

reach a target of 100,000.

For more information on the SPCA, contact 03-4256 5312 or visit <a

href= " http://www.spca.org.my " target= " _blank " >www.spca.org.my</a>.

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FWD: SPCA hopes for a stray-free country by 2010

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