New dog licensing by-laws ‘hasty’ — NGO
KUCHING: An animal nongovernmental organisation ( NGO) is concerned about the implementation of the new dog licensing by-laws, which it regards as ‘hasty’.
The Save Our Strays Kuching Association ( S.O. S. Kuching) believes that such implementation could lead to detrimental results instead of achieving the desirable outcome.
On Monday, Assistant Minister of Local Government Datu Dr Penguang Manggil announced the new Local Authorities ( Dog Licensing and Control) By-Laws 2018 – limiting the number of dogs for every landed property to three, and one small-breed dog for every flat or apartment unit.
The dog owners must also obtain licences for their pets – a licence is valid for three years; the licensing fee for a sterilised and unsterilised dog is RM30 and RM90, respectively.
In an issued statement, S.O. S. Kuching viewed the by-law to limit the number of dogs per property as ‘a commendable move’, but regarded the short notice given to the pet- owners as ‘not feasible’.
“First of all, the by-laws will take effect on Dec 1, 2018 – only allowing a 40- day grace period for pet owners to comply with the requirements. This is highly likely to result in more indiscriminate pet abandonment cases.
“Indeed, we have been noticing more frequent dumping since last year, as irresponsible pet owners chose to get rid of their animals instead of vaccinating and neutering them. This by-law has a high potential of exacerbating this undesirable, immoral and non- civic-minded behaviour in Kuchingites,” said the NGO.
It also pointed out the lack of details pertaining to this by-law, which had been causing confusion, fear and panic among dog owners, the majority of whom might own more than three dogs – many of these dogs might have not been spayed or neutered.
In this respect, S.O.S. Kuching highlighted an immediate need for the authorities to provide clear and specific details and guidelines to inform dog owners regarding the mechanism and implications of this by-law.
“It is a well-known fact that irresponsible pet ownership has been running deep in our society and community for decades. This behaviour will not be resolved by this by-law alone, as it does not even address the root cause of the problem.
“The said policy and the many others meted out by the authorities since the rabies outbreak would only aggravate the situation.
“We agree wholeheartedly that the rabies situation must be mitigated, but in a proper and humane manner – one that has been proven to work by authorities such as the World Health Organisation (WHO). Once again, we want to appeal and reach out to the government. Please, allow us to collaborate so that the safety of both humans and animals can be safeguarded,” it said.
S.O. S. Kuching also expressed its grief and disappointment in seeing how the current measures had resulted in fear, anger, confusion, panic and grievances among the public.
“The current measures, without further exploration, will raise the issues of cost of neutering and licensing on the pet owners, which would lead to undesirable outcome. This must be looked into by the authorities, including ways to provide subsidised or cheaper neutering options and also licensing fees whenever required,”
Adding on, S.O. S. Kuching also called upon the authorities to work closely with all animal welfare NGOs in issues relating to domestic and stray animals, and also the fight against rabies.
“It’s time for the relevant agencies and parties to get together to further discuss outstanding matters and collaborations, since our last meeting held on Aug 31, 2018.
“S.O. S. Kuching wishes to reiterate the need to adopt the Malaysia Animals Welfare Act 2015 in our state, which covers pet abandonment under Section 29(p). This Act will complement the new by-law in deterring indiscriminate abandonment by irresponsible pet owners,” the NGO said.
It is notable to state that unless approved by local authorities, By-Law 9 also specifies higher licensing fees for additional dogs. The licensing fees for additional dogs are RM90 for a sterilised dog, and RM270 for a non- sterilised dog.
Additionally, there is also a provision in the new by-laws stating that any unclaimed dog, which has been seized from the streets and impounded after 48 hours, would be put to sleep.
Penguang was quoted as having said that any seized dog could only be released to the owner upon the settlement of the impounding fee of RM50 per day, or part thereof.
He added that all the 26 dog licensing by-laws in Sarawak had been consolidated into one law for the purpose of uniformity and consistency in the licensing and control of the local dog population.
Tabled and approved by the Sarawak Cabinet on Oct 18, the bylaws would take effect this Dec 1.