Lee: Veterinary depts must handle strays, not council workers

KUALA LUMPUR: State Veterinary Services Departments should handle strays or animal cases and not municipal council workers, says Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

Speaking on the case where municipal council workers killed a licensed seven-month-old dog in Malacca, the SPCA Selangor patron said local authorities were unfit to handle animals and their involvement in such matters resulted in too many cases of animal cruelty.

He also called for police action against the municipal council workers who allegedly trespassed into a house in Lubok Cina, Alor Gajah and shot dead the dog on July 29.

“This was totally uncalled for and they must be made to face the consequences.

“Cases of such nature are very rampant where local authorities inflict cruelty on animals. They should let the state Veterinary Services Departments handle it,” said Lee when contacted.

While he acknowledged there might have been cases where pets or strays caused disturbances in neighbourhoods, he viewed shooting incidents like the one last week as unbecoming of local authorities.

The owner of the dog in the Malacca case lodged a police report, after which Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron called for action to be taken against the seven enforcement officers who entered the compound of the house.

“There is no reason to shoot the dog and if there were any complaints, the owner should have been informed first,” he said on Monday.