17 September 2012 | last updated at 12:20AM
ANIMAL lovers were delighted when the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan) announced that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would meet animal rescue groups in a first-of-its-kind session this month.
This is timely as many cases of animal abuse and ill treatment by local council workers have surfaced.
Penang's relationship with strays has not been cordial.
In May last year, Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) workers culled stray dogs using guns. Some were shot in the middle of the street, shocking and infuriating the people. MPPP was criticised for being callous and inhumane.
This forced the council to resort to a more humane way of catching dogs by using tranquillisers, after getting the green light from Bukit Aman federal police headquarters.
In April, a special team of five was formed to handle the tranquilliser guns.
A hostel caretaker in Jelutong recently complained that she saw a truckload of council officials entering a private hostel and "snatching" eight two-month-old stray puppies a few months ago.
The woman, in her 40s, said she cried when she saw the officials chase the puppies around the garden and stomp on them before shoving them into a gunny sack.
"I will never forget the babies (puppies) wailing, probably in pain.
"They said they had received complaints from residents that the dogs were making a lot of noise and were taking them away."
Who could forget the dog-catching competition in 2007, organised by the Selayang Municipal Council in Selangor? They offered over RM39,000 in prize money to residents who caught the most dogs over a period of six months.
Save our Strays (SOS), a coalition of seven animal rights groups in Penang, are campaigning for the spaying of female dogs and cats.
They presented a slide show to MPPP on July 19 to propose a neuter-and-release programme. They were promised a favourable reply from the council "soon", but nothing has happened so far.
A follow-up letter by SOS coordinator April Sham was sent on Aug 24 to state Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow and another to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The tireless animal rescuer only received an acknowledgement receipt from the Chief Minister's Office.
Sham had suggested, through the coalition, that the council should channel funds used for putting down dogs towards a spaying programme instead.
She said, this way, there would be less of a burden on animal shelters on the island. She also stressed that the council should educate the public about the need to spay their pets.
"Our request is not too much -- catch strays and spay them with the money allocated to put them to sleep."
Now, it is left to be seen how these two state leaders will react.
Through scientific research, years of failed attempts and evidence from animal control personnel in many countries, international animal rights group Humane Society International (HSI) has concluded that the "catch and kill" method is not an effective way to keep the stray dog population under control.
It also found that having animal shelters or pounds are not effective if there was no regulations or methods to control the dog population, as more and more animals would start pouring in from the streets.
The results were approved by the World Health Organisation and World Organisation of Animal Health.
HSI is certain that spaying, proper regulations on animals, registration of dogs, animal control and humane euthanasia (putting to sleep), performed by qualified officials, are more effective in keeping the stray population under control.
It is learnt that HSI has sent a letter to the MPPP's Urban Services, Public Health and Licensing Unit director Dr Judy Shoba and offered to help them out with the programme.
Let's hope they act soon before the situation gets worse.
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