MPJBT engages private company to put down stray dogs

JOHOR BARU: A municipal council has engaged a private company to get rid of stray dogs with lethal injection instead of bludgeoning them to death.

Central Johor Baru Municipal Council (MPJBT) president Sallehuddin Hassan said the private company, which was appointed at the end of last month, would be tasked with catching, putting down and disposing of the carcasses.

“We decided to engage this company, which was already carrying out services for the Kulai Municipal Council in Johor as we do not want a repeat of the bludgeoning of stray dogs by our enforcement officials to happen again,” he told The Star here.

Sallehuddin said this method was a more humane way to put the animals down.

He stressed that while it would incur higher costs, it was the best option to tackle strays as MPJBT was facing a huge problem due to many public complaints.

The Star recently reported about a video clip showing enforcement staff inhumanely putting down strays at the back of a warehouse in Jalan Makmur, Skudai, which went viral online and raised uproar among animal lovers.

Sallehuddin admitted that the incident is a “terrible mistake” and said the council had taken the matter seriously.

Some councillors and animal rights groups have even suggested that action be taken against the enforcement officers.

MPJBT councillor Tan Tuan Peng, who had previously criticised the enforcement officials for bludgeoning the strays, said the private company would charge the council RM100 per animal put down.

He added that the cost of disposing the strays was high due to the lethal injection used.

”All strays will be photographed and documented before the company makes a claim with the council,” he said.

For the first five months of this year, MPJBT has put down 1,181 dogs.

Last year, the council received 997 complaints on stray dogs and had put down 2,524, while in 2012, the council received 1,135 complaints and put down 2,345 strays.