Thursday, November 20, 2008

Disband the Dog Catching Units in Malaysia

I strongly urge the Federal Government of Malaysia together with the State Governments led by Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat to once and for all disband the controversial dog-catching units.

It is highly unbecoming of these officers to abuse their power to catch dogs, with the latest controversy arising from Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam where the enforcers trespassed into a house and dragged the dog right underneath the gate out.

If we are to declare our country as a developed nation in 2020, I will surely be the first one to oppose this.

What is the use of being developed in terms of economy and an intelligent society when basic knowledge of law by the enforcers themselves are not applied?

What is the use of being a developed nation when we cannot even treat pets that our neighbours or our people keep with respect and manners?

Owners who keep their pets illegally should be given a fine and warnings. There surely can be a "carrot and stick" system where the pet owners - be it dogs or cats or any animal that needs to be registered - will adhere to the law.

I am very irritated that there are units in local Governments that specifically state "Dog Catching Unit".

What about cats, rabbits, ponies, iguanas and some rich folks even have tiger or lion cubs (Which is illegal, I am sure)?

If I hear about cats or rabbits dragged through their metal gate by enforcers, be assured that A Piece of My Mind will equally slam these enforcers.

We had Dato' Tang See Hang from Selayang launching the shameful competition of dog catching with monetary rewards. We had the enforcer in Taiping misfired a shot targetted at a stray and hit an innocent man.

Now, in Shah Alam?

There is no use of being a developed nation with an uncivilized third world mentality.

A PIECE OF MY MIND will break all principles this time and comment on the police report made by the owner of the dog dragged out through the gate.

A PIECE OF MY MIND strongly urge the police to push the file to Prosecutors for these enforcers to be charged under the law for :

1. illegally trespassing a private property
2. inhumane actions of dragging the dog through the gate
3. putting the dog to sleep under an illegal process

Once and for all, teach these people a lesson.

A PIECE OF MY MIND recommends to all Government leaders at the State level to reconsider the "Dog Catching Units".

We do not need any "Rabbit Catching Units", "Cat Catching Units", "Pony Catching Units", "Dog Catching Units" or any other such units that the Government can think of.

This is not a game of hunting and these units are a waste of public funds - funds that we all pay for income taxes, financial returns taxes, land taxes etc.


SPCA's new term caught my eyes. BE KIND TO ANIMALS. I had and still have pets at home - ducks, tortoises, dogs. Maybe these enforcers should adopt a pet and learn to have a kind heart.

Or you can try this.


DISBAND THE DAMN DOG CATCHING UNITS!
UPDATED:
If you have the time, read this website http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/15162/84/ . I am very mad after reading this piece of article. I cannot help but agree with the comments by readers at this link. Perhaps the next time we see animal cruelty, we should take the picture of that person doing it and forward to SPCA and newspapers, be it senseless enforcers from the dog-catching unit of pet owners themselves.

1 comment:

Jimmy Tham said...

Just like NEP, the intention is noble but how it is being carried is seriously flawed. Stray dogs are a nuisance to the public, ranging from health problems to public safety but killing them indiscriminately is just not right.

Catching dogs straying on the road without tags are being done worldwide, we can even see it on cartoon where the dogs were captured and made a heroic attempt to escape them later, so it is not the question of whether a developed country should adopt this measure or not.

At present, subject of dog is a taboo in muslim countries resulting in no real, concerted and centralised effort in tackling this issue. With SPCA barking on one hand saying the gov should do something on this issue, the gov ought to slap it on their face and come out with tough measure that can solve this problem to its core.

Let's call it the smart man's way. By centralising this operation like maybe delegating it to vet services, gov could force dog owners to register their dog(s), tag them with chips & collar and all this can be done with not a small token sum of fee. I prefer a fee that is high enough to discourage those who are not real into rearing a dog/pet and requiring these pet dogs to undergo a subsidised training (from the high fees charged on registering them or bundle it all up together). wooila~ Gov can show the public it can think with its brain for once, solving the issue once & for all, win votes from pet lovers/non-muslims, solve SPCA's problems as well (how pet dogs are being tortured and left to rot when the owner lose interest in them) and generating attractive revenue that can go into subsidising dog ownership for disabled people.