Thursday, June 14, 2012

PETPOSITIVE Takes MBI Mayor To Task, Says Dog Pound Needed

Thursday June 14, 2012

Councils need a pound to keep captured animals, says Anthony

By IVAN LOH
ivanloh@thestar.com.my

ALL local councils should have a pound to keep captured stray animals, said Petpositive president Anthony Thanasayan.
Anthony, who is also a councillor of the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), said a local council should be responsible to take care of the animals they catch.

“There should be a place to keep these animals. If the animals are pets belonging to someone, the pound will be the first place they look,” he told The Star.

“Some of the stray animals should be kept for at least seven days or be re-homed and put up for adoption,” he said, adding that the city council would then have the option to take action against animals that are unwanted.
Anthony: Some of the stray animals should be kept for at least seven days or be re-homed and put up for adoption.

He also said that the city council could use the taxpayers’ money to build a pound.

“The people, will, in fact, respect the mayor for that,” he said.

Anthony was commenting on Ipoh Datuk Bandar Datuk Roshidi Hashim’s statement in The Star yesterday that a pound was neither suitable nor effective.

Roshidi had said a pound was much worse as the animals would have to be locked up in cages and that diseases would spread from one animal to another.

Anthony noted that it was poor thinking on the part of the mayor.

“The spreading of diseases is not the fault of the pound but of its management.

“To cope with viruses and diseases from spreading is why we cooperate with the Veterinary Services Department (DVS).

“The department has the expertise to control viruses and diseases from spreading and the pound can be sanitised,” he added.

Anthony also said MBPJ did not have a pound but was working towards setting up one.

“We are currently sending captured animals to the Paws Animal Welfare Society’s animal shelter.
“The MBPJ will pay them RM20 for each dog or cat taken in,” he said, adding that the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) would soon open its model pound, which could be the benchmark for other local councils to follow.

Both the MBPJ and MPK did not hire contractors to catch stray dogs, he added.

“The enforcement officers from both councils catch stray dogs themselves,” he said.

Anthony also urged the Ipoh City Council to be more transparent when handling related issues.
“It is fine to catch the dogs upon receiving a complaint from the public. There is nothing to be afraid of; just tell the truth and explain to the public how they handle the animals,” he said.

The Ipoh City Council has clarified that the stray dogs caught are put down by way of lethal injection and are buried at the Papan landfill.

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 150,000 and ever increasing! PET+BLOGSPOT is updated daily. Kindly note that views expressed in 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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