THE MALAYSIAN POLICE and the Department of Veterinary Services were heavily criticised here this morning by animal rights and welfare groups for their failure up to this point in taking action against the two individuals who are responsible for inflicting physical abuse on a toy poodle in the country.
This was expressed by several animal concern nongovernmental organisations that turned up at the headquarters of the Dang Wangi district police just before noon to make their police report.
"If the PDRM and the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) continue to remain apathetic over the issue and not take any action within the next 24-hours, then they leave us with no choice but to go out and make a citizens' arrest of the culprits ourselves and rescue the dog," he told the members of the media who were present in utter frustration.
"What happened to the canine is a clear case of cruelty and a dastardly criminal offense and there is no reason at all why our authorities cannot act on the perpetrators," added Surendran who is also Legal Adviser to PETPOSITIVE.
The well-known animal and human rights activist in the country was referring to a video that was widely circulated in the Internet where a man physically badgered his pet poodle for refusing to stand on its hind legs as his girlfriend videotaped the whole event.
The more than 15-minute footage was said to have been found by an unidentified person from a pen drive.
"The reason why such a scene was filmed in the first place is because the perpetrators knew full-well that no action would be taken against them if they were found out," pointed out Anthony SB Thanasayan, President of Petpositive.
"Many of these dogs are so close-knit to their owners that they have been known to even refuse to eat and die as a result when they are parted with them for long periods of time.
Thanasayan also took the opportunity to point out that "human beings are the most dangerous animals on the planet."
"All of us as animal-loving Malaysians are still trying to understand and make some sense of the horrible dog attack in Penang recently where a foreigner was mauled to death," he said.
"However, this latest Poodle incident proves that dogs committing harm on innocent humans are often isolated and rare.
"However, it is human beings who are more dangerous to our society and animals," Thanasayan stressed.
Shenaaz Khan, the president of the Malaysian Animal Welfare Society called MAW said enough information has been submitted to the DVS from the public and police reports made for them to act.
"The sheer brutality alone in the clip is enough to warrant the authorities to move in against the culprits. What are they waiting for?" she asked.
In addition to the groups mentioned above, the event was also attended by the the Independent Living and Training Centre from Rawang, Selangor and the Lawyers for Liberty.
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| Dr Aziz: We will be swift |
"We are looking through all the material that have been provided by the public so far. We are still looking for a lead so that we can nail the culprits," he said.
"When we act, you can be rest assured that we will be swift in what we do."
Dr Aziz welcomes anyone with positive information on the culprits to call the DVS immediately.
Here is a report from The Star today which provides the number to call the authorities if you have information that can nab the criminals.
Thursday January 27, 2011
Those with info on poodle abuser urged to contact authorities
Reports by RASHVINJEET S. BEDI, JOSHUA FOONG and SHAUN HO
PETALING JAYA: Enraged dog lovers want the Veterinary Services Department to bring to book an abuser of a poodle after a video clip showing the incident was posted on Facebook.While the canine lovers are offering on Facebook cash rewards exceeding RM5,000 for information on the culprit, department enforcement division director Datuk Mohamed Radzuan Malek called on those with information on the abuser to report to the authorities for action to be taken.
“We need concrete details of the man because what we have so far is just online speculation. Once we have someone willing to be our informant and stand as a witness in court, we can build a strong case against the abuser,” he told The Star.
The abuser, if caught, will be charged under Part IV of the Animals Act 1953 and can be fined RM200 or jailed six months, or both, if found guilty.
Those with information can call the department at 03-8870 2000 or SMS DVS HQAduan (Your Complaint) to 15888.
In the 15-minute video, a man is seen using brute force on a poodle in an attempt to force the dog to stand up on its hind legs.
It is not known whether the dog is still alive.
A man and a woman have been singled out on Facebook to be the ones behind the video clip.
However, Facebook users have discovered that the woman had two Facebook accounts – one for casual friends and the other that was created after the matter erupted.
Animal rights advocate Andrew Boey is worried that both the Facebook accounts had been hacked and were falsely created.
Boey, with a group of friends, will hire a private investigator to investigate the matter and help the authorities apprehend the real culprits.
A photo montage is also circulating on Facebook identifying a female suspect as she was wearing a T-shirt similar to the one seen in the video.
The man sitting next to her was seen wearing a ring similar to the one worn by the abuser in the video.
PET+BLOGSPOT is the ONLINE BLOG of the Malaysian Animal-Assisted Therapy for the Disabled and Elderly Association or Petpositive. Our 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 are now 100,000 and ever increasing! PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Kindly note that views expressed in this PET+BLOGSPOT 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 under 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 for our work. Thank you!
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