The Selangor government has instructed all municipal councils to "clean up their act" concerning the management of animal pounds.
State executive councillor for health, estate workers' affiars, poverty eradication and caring government Dr Xavier Jayakumar said yesterday all municipal councils have been told to maintain the cleanliness of the pounds, work with the Veterinary Services Department under the Agriculture Ministry and that officers have to treat sick animals and follow guidelines on euthanising them.
He said the recent media reports on the poor condition of local council pounds had resulted in checks made to the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS), Klang Municipal Council and Ampang Jaya Municipal Council pounds.
"There reports about the MPK pound was found to be not true," he said, after launching a workshop organised by Canine Advisory Team (CAT) on the management of stray animals and pets in Selangor at the Subang Jaya Municipal Council.
"As far as MPS is concerned, we have informed the health section of the council to make the necessary changes," he said.
A blog posting revealed that a dozen dogs had died in the MPS pound over the last one week due to mismanagement and slacking of caretaking duties.
Jayakumar said the state is working to streamline animal licensing guidelines across municipal and city councils. "We will consider all sensitivities."
He said the guidelines have been in place for a significant amount of time under the Local Government Act and changes take "a bit of time".
Jayakumar said the state is also stydying total procedural matters concerning the way in which animals are treated in municipal council pounds after receiving complaints on the management of pounds and animals.
He said the public should expect more information soon about a centralised pound to be established by the state.
Jayakumar said the facility requires at least two hectares and the only available land is in Sepang.
“I have plans for it and I have also spoken to consultants on ways to establish a environmentally-
friendly facility,” he said.
Meanwhile, the forum organised by CAT yielded five recommendations: local councils to work together with the veterinary department and officers, local councils to cooperate with NGOs on catching strays, microchipping for easy ownership identification, educating pet owners and more stringent licensing laws.
Twelve local councils took part in the forum.
(Note: This news story in The Sun was published on Wednesday, March 3, 2010. (Pictures are by PET+BLOGSPOT)
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