Spat over stray cats in Tg Emas
MUAR: An animal rights group is at loggerheads with a local authority over stray cats in Tanjung Emas.
Johorbased Noah’s Ark Animal Shelter launched an operation to rescue the strays after finding out that the Muar Municipal Council was rounding up the felines.
Its chairman Mariam Yusof said the group was appalled at the use of loops to catch the cats.
“I contacted the council and an officer told me the cats would be relocated to a dumpsite in Bakri, which is inhumane and puts these animals in danger.
“We called up about 20 volunteers to help us rescue stray cats from Aug 29 to 31. We saved 53 cats,” she said yesterday.
Mariam said the council launched the operation following complaints about the strays which were deemed a nuisance and an eyesore.
But, she pointed out, Tanjung Emas has become a hotspot for irresponsible cat owners to dump their unwanted pets.
She advised people not to abandon their cats and if they did, they should first have them sterilised to keep them from breeding.
Mariam said that within hours of saving the strays, many people came forward to take an animal from her.
Council president Jamaludin A. Ha mid said it was all a misunderstanding that had likely stemmed from miscommunication between the group and his officers.
“We never had any intention of putting the cats into a dump or killing the animals, we wanted to relocate them to other areas,” he said.
He said the council had to take action because there were many complaints by traders in Tanjung Emas.