Friday, February 10, 2012

Catching Stray Dogs Humanely

Catching stray dogs in a humane way

G Vinod | February 10, 2012
A private dog catcher says local council dog catching teams can nab strays without hurting them.
PETALING JAYA: For years, local councils and their dog catching teams have been criticised for their inhuman ways of catching stray animals. Now Adrian Johnson Lim, who terms hiumself as a “private dog catcher” wants to teach councils how to do it properly.

“I am in this industry not for the sake of money but to prove a point that local councils can, in fact, deal with strays in the most humane way possible.

“Besides, I always had this love for animals, especially dogs since young,” said Lim.
Lim, who is an independent consultant on vector, public health and safety, said he decided to work with local councils to help control stray populations in 2007.

And one incident triggered Lim to make the decision, involving a local council in Selangor.
“The council workers were reported to have dragged a stray dog through a gate railing. The poor dog’s ear got torn off in the melee.”

“When the word spread, the council received brickbats over its action and that was when certain parties asked me whether I could advise on how to catch strays in a more humane way,” said Lim.
For a start, Lim said he conceptualised and initiated basic training courses for several local councils such as the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) and Klang Municipal Council (MPK), using an internationally recognised humane capture practices.

The event was held in Malacca in May 2009, with the assistance of the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS).

In his demonstrations, Lim said he educated several local council officers that to catch a stray effectively, the dog handlers should understand animal behaviour and learn to condition the stray animal first.

“And for that, these dog handlers must love animals and have an understanding on various methods of capture, not only for the animals’ safety but also for the dog catchers themselves,” said Lim.

Untrained dog handlers

On why local councils seemed hapless when it comes to dealing with strays, Lim said that the main reason was that none of the council workers were professionally trained in the first place.
“In addition, many councils have no specific budget for catching strays. That could probably explain why, in the past, some took the easy way out by shooting the dogs,” said Lim.
He also recalled an incident involving a local council in Johor, which, upon receiving complaints, merely chased the dogs away from the area due to lack of budget, training and equipment.
And that is why, Lim said, he supported the Selangor government’s initiative to build a state-run pound as it would be of great boon to councils with budget constraints.

He also said that it could provide better access to those who had lost their pets and aid in recovering them.

Lim added that he submitted a similar proposal to the state government in 2009.

“All those strays captured by these councils would be kept there and the facility would be manned by full-time staff,” he said.

He also said that the pound could upload the pictures of the stray animals caught on its website so that people could easily check for their missing pets.

Sharing his experience on being a trainer and consultant for a private dog catching company, Lim said that he himself has caught strays while sometimes being monitored by council officers.

“The team that I assist takes photographic evidence to prevent any discrepancies, like the location where the strays are captured, the pound (where they are kep) and when administering euthanasia, which is conducted by licensed veterinarians.

“We also record the types of dogs captured, sex, colour and other details on a daily basis.
“My team also helps ensure that animals that are kept at the pound are well treated. We also ensure that the pounds are disinfected and cleaned regularly.” said Lim.

However, he conceded that there were several errant dog catching contractors that leave the captured strays under harsh conditions without food or water.

“It all boils down to giving the job to the right people who had proper training. Probably these people lack empathy with the animals,” he said.

Willing to improvise

On local animal activists’ criticism that he “gains” the dogs’ trust by offering them food which is said to be cruel, Lim claimed that it was among the most humane method used by renowned animal control and welfare organisations worldwide.

“Rather than chasing strays with poles or other similar means which may inflict injury, fear and other psychological distress on the animals, I believe this method has been proven to be much safer for both the animal and the catcher.

“However, if anyone has any other humane means of capturing strays, please do share these ideas with me,” he said.

Over the years, through collaborations from professionals in various countries, Lim said that he had developed a unique and localised version of stray-handling training course for local councils and animal welfare groups alike. These courses also include training on animal restraint techniques.
“I have even trained an animal welfare NGO from Kota Kinabalu,” he said.

Being in the stray animal capture and management field, he said he was also consulted by many local councils throughout Malaysia on improving their methods as well as providing advice on proper pound management.

“Hopefully, in time to come, we would be able to see more improvements in the way the councils deal with strays,” he said.



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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Mr.Anthony,I heard from a Majlis Selayang officer that this person was helping the majlis at one time last year but he decided to stop after a only few months. I think I also remember the officer saying that this guy and his team was very good in catching strays and was even helping them manage the Rawang pound.

Raj Ulu Yam

Beaverton Vet said...

Stray dogs don't have so much difference with trained dogs when it comes to their needs of TLC.