Thursday, November 25, 2010

Inching Closer To Malaysian Animal Welfare Act

DATELINE: PUTRAJAYA  

MALAYSIA IS ALL THE MORE CLOSER NOW THAN SHE EVER WAS BEFORE IN HAVING HER FIRST ANIMAL WELFARE ACT.

THE MOVE WILL PUT THE NATION IN PAR WITH MANY COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD AND IN THE REGION THAT ALREADY HAVE LAWS TO PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS. 


This was confirmed after the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) held its first protem committee meeting at its headquarters here earlier this afternoon.

The committee is being called the Animal Welfare Advisory Council or AWAC.

Once officially formalised, the group is expected to give increased powers to the DVS in order to take effective action against acts of animal cruelty all over the country.  

More than half a dozen nongovernmental organisations were present for the very first meeting of its kind.

They included PETPOSITIVE from Kuala Lumpur, SPCA Selangor and Noah's Ark of Ipoh and Johor as well as Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) from Penang.

Dr Aziz: A milestone
"We have achieved a milestone with our first meeting today," said an elated Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamalludin, the director-general of the DVS who chaired the meeting.

"This gives us a much-needed mandate that will eventually lead to an animal welfare bill in Parliament," he added.

Dr Aziz, who mooted the idea of AWAC, was delighted with the room filled with animal activists of more than 30 people. 

He fielded many questions and comments from them during an almost three-hour session.

These also included some direct criticisms against the DVS. 

Nine pedigrees killed in Kuala Langat
Some saw the DVS as an institution that was too slow to act on previous cases of animal cruelty.

According to Dr Aziz, the next crucial step for AWAC is to get the new committee members endorsed by the Cabinet.

This will be done as soon as possible, he promised.

Once that is out of the way, AWAC will feverishly start working on the all-important Animal Bill in order to present it for the next  Parliamentary sitting in 2011. 

He said with everyone working together, Malaysia could very well have an Animal Act by the start of 2012 or even earlier!

AWAC will cover five issues under subcommittees. 

They are pet animal companions; sports and recreational animals; animals related to food; animals in research and laboratories and wild animals.

Whilst everyone were in high spirits at the meeting, some animal NGOs decided to take a more cautious approach to the news. 

SAM was all thumbs up for the first meeting but told PET+BLOGSPOT that they preferred to take a "wait-and-see approach" before saying anything more.

However for Noah's Ark Ipoh, it was good news all the way. 

A representative said that she just couldn't wait for AWAC to get started.       


PET+BLOGSPOT is the ONLINE BLOG of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association (Petpositive). Our reports and stories are CURRENT, ACCURATE and RELIABLE. We offer both local and foreign news on animals, disability and the elderly. PET+BLOGSPOT was first established in October 2007. Our hits since then is now 70,000 and going strong! PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Sometimes even twice or three times a day. Kindly take note that views expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of PETPOSITIVE. You may also visit our Webpage by browsing: www.petpositive.com.my You can also find us in Facebook as PETPOSITIVE EMPOWERMENT. Please sign up as a FOLLOWER of this Blog if you haven't done so already in order to show us your kind support. Thank you!

9 comments:

arif said...

Dear Blogmaster,
I would like to congratulate all animal welfare groups and DVS for the strongest initiative to make the animal welfare bill into reality for the best interest of the animals.

Unknown said...

Ant I thought it was a very good meeting and it was nice to see you again. It a step in the right direction. Unless we try we will never know if it is ever going to work or not. My view on yesterdays meeting is a positive one. It will work, WE HAVE TO MAKE IT WORK.

Felicia said...

Hi

Thank you Anthony for doing so much for the poor defenseless animals.

There is no doubt that God wants you to be the voice of such voiceless creatures.

It pains me to see human beings ill treat God's creatures.

God Bless You.

Felicia (via email)

Kathleen said...

Dear Anthony,

I read with great delight that the Ipoh City Council (MBI) has decided to ban the shooting of dogs and that they will send a representative to Spunk's owner to offer its regret and condolences. Please do let us know the outcome of this visit.

I was one of those animal lovers who were mortified to hear of what happened to Spunk. I am glad that Petpositive has taken the effort to meet with MBI to find a more meaningful way to treat stray animals.

Kudos on all of you at Petpositive and yourself especially!

Your sincerely,
Kathleen. (via Blackberry)

Anonymous said...

I like the idea of a chip for service and companion dogs.
Fezia Tyebally (via Petpositive Empowerment)

Unknown said...

WOuldnt it be better to call them Caring Malaysians rather than animal lovers? All Malaysians (& other humans) who are caring beings should WANT this Act to be enacted. It's just being part of a decent being.

Jane Khoo (via Facebook on Petpositive Empowerment)

Anonymous said...

Hi there! I think it's a good thing we're coming up with AWAC. I was wondering if the committee will be referring to the NAWAC, that of New Zealand when drafting an animal welfare code?

Unknown said...

Dear Anonymous,

NAWAC sounds like a terrific idea. Could you provide us with the details and if it's about animal rights and welfare, that's exactly MAWAC is looking for.

If you prefer to email, please mailto:petpositive.blogspot.com

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Please keep your fingers crossed that the Animal Welfare Bill will be passed sooner than later!

Tears are running down my face and I’m filled with anger after watching a video on YouTube of a little dog named Sushi being abused. Many studies have proved that animal abusers are aggressive towards people as well. This man deserves to be locked away in prison before he hurts another innocent animal or person! Please take a few minutes to sign this petition urging Malaysian authorities to prosecute this evil dog torturer! Just click this link http://action.petaasiapacific.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=110&ea.campaign.id=9415 and sign your name. Sushi is counting on us to help her!