DOG-CRUELTY - Did The Council Err Or Did We?

MPSJ "DOG-CRUELTY" UPDATE:

 




So was I or was I not happy with my meeting with the Majlis Perbandaran Subang Jaya (MPSJ) this morning?

Folks, I have to be honest and tell you that I WAS SATISFIED with their answers.

And why am I feeling guilty for confessing this to you? 

Why is it that the local councils always seem to be the bad guys in the eyes of animal rights NGOs?

Can they do no good for a change?

Okay, yes, many local councils have not had a good record when it comes to handling dogs in the past. 

Who can forget the Seremban council that literally went on a shooting spree a few years ago and blew the brains out of more than a dozen stray dogs that were looked after in an elderly couple's home.

And more recently, there were a few more nasty incidents. The SPCA alleges that there are still other cases of cruelty secretly going on with local councils to this day.

But I think that some of us tend to forget that there is a new government in Selangor now since almost two years. And with that have come some interesting changes in which special interests groups have become connected at last with local governments. 

The Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) is one of them where the disabled, for example, have their own monthly committee meetings with the local council. 

And so do pet lovers in the form of the Canine Advisory Team. 

Once a month, councils throughout Selangor also take the opportunity to attend the meetings. This, so that they can share experiences and learn from each other how best to treat and tackle the - shall we say, "dog problem" in our midst.

MPSJ is one such member. And so, was with a certain amount of caution (and friendship) that I, as chairman of CAT, went to visit the town council this morning. 

The head of the dog catching company which MPSJ employs to round up strays was also present (at my request).   

I was told that it was MPSJ that decided to call for the press coverage of their dog catching exercise which was illustrated in The Star this week containing the "offending" picture. 


So what this means is that if the bad guys had anything to hide, this was certainly not a brainy decision on their part so as to have the exercise whilst having the voracious press breathing down your back.


I was also told that the puppy in the picture was caught by hand because the company doesn't use lasso ropes attached to poles to catch young dogs.

This is because they didn't want to get the animals injured or killed in the process.

Now, that's quite a noble intention, don't you think for a council to do which has a reputation to be a monster for canines.  


Most puppies are bodily carried into the van. Only certain exceptions are made to puppies that bite out of fear or in extreme situations - aggression. 

And so they are nabbed by their hind legs so as to prevent the dog catchers from getting bitten. 

I am told that many of them end up getting bitten in their profession. 

I also discovered later that some animal rescuers also use this method in special exceptions when dealing with aggressive puppies.

When it is executed, it is done as quickly as possible, frequnetly lasting only a few seconds so as NOT to stress the traumatised canines any further. 

When I suggested that they use a towel to cover the face of a puppy in future (as suggested to me by the SPCA) or use protective gloves, this was well received as a good suggestion to the dog catchers.

It was also pointed out that the dog catchers in the picture (the Indian lad/s) are all dog lovers at heart. Many of them would pat and play with the dogs that were caught and would also feel very sorry when any of the creatures had to be put down.)

To be honest, I also heard complaints about animal NGOs for a change. They are accused of not helping local councils enough to arm them with proper knowledge on how to treat dogs. 

"They seem to only criticize but never offer concrete suggestions on how to solve problems," said somebody. 

The meeting lasted for more than an hour. 

As CAT Chairperson of MBPJ, I seized the opportunity to invite the representative from the dog catching company to come to our meeting on Thursday where we could discuss the proper way to trap canines more effectively. 

So guys, that's it. You are most welcome to read whatever or whichever way you want of my account. 

However, as far as I am concerned for now, the incident was most unfortunate to say the best. 

I always prefer to engage local councils into effective dialogue than to merely throw brickbats at them when they have erred.

Such actions, frankly, don't help the canines.  

PET+BLOGSPOT



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