Humans are not their best friends

Shah Alam council’s goal to put 500 strays to sleep draws royal rebuke

DOGS are a man’s best friend, but to the Shah Alam City Council, strays are a nuisance that need to be impounded and put to sleep. The council is resorting to this measure after up to 500 dogs were estimated to be loitering in the city. Dogs being dogs, their reason for being is simple: rummaging through rubbish bags and dumps, prowling the streets in packs, breaking the night’s tranquility with their barking, and breeding uncontrollably. Then there’s the risk: the strays are liable to carry zoonotic diseases like rabies and toxoplasmosis, the chief reason why they are targeted. But that’s the nature of these wild dogs.

It is us humans that failed them by neglecting their welfare. The council’s culling strategy has caught the attention of Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, who disagreed with the policy. Understandably, it’s her natural position: as patron of the Stray Free Selangor campaign under the Selangor SPCA, she is imploring local councils to undertake a holistic approach to manage stray dogs. The catch-and-kill approach is inhumane, to say the least, and the consort called for a change in the Local Government Development Ministry’s standard operating procedures. Does it have to take a royal rebuke to expose the cruelty of local councils eliminating stray dogs? We aren’t even sure if the consort’s concern will be heeded, knowing how singleminded these councils are in eliminating the dogs, where hardcore catchers misconstrue dogs as “unclean”. Never mind if dogs are God’s creatures. The dictum is, the canines must be purged.

However, the problem is not impounding the dogs but keeping them safe and sound, which is a logistical conundrum. First, the pounds are operated by animal rights groups, which secured space and set up shelters. If the council rounded up all 500 dogs, there might not be enough space to hold them temporarily, let alone permanently. And even if animal shelters had the financial resources to buy plots, there is no guarantee that land conversion will be fast or approved. This attitude is typical of our councils’ indifference to stray dogs, exemplified by the absence of any budget allocation for animal care and welfare. The only salvation is human compassion for the animals, the same way local councils help the destitute, particularly orphans. If there’s anyone who can help generate benevolence, it’s Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin.

We aren’t even sure if the consort’s concern will be heeded, knowing how singleminded these councils are in eliminating the dogs.