No more cruelty to livestock

Final destination: Chickens stacked in baskets arriving by lorry at the Selayang wholesale market.

EXCLUSIVE:PUTRAJAYA: Regulations will soon be in place to ensure livestock and poultry like chicken, ducks, pigs and cattle will be transported safely without them being harmed.

Details such as the minimum space requirements for animals on vehicles, the number of cages and proper ventilation will be listed out in the regulations currently being drawn up by the Veterinary Services Department (DVS).

“These moves will ensure the animals will not be harmed or overly crammed while being delivered in lorries and other modes of transpor­tation,” DVS director-general Datuk Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam said.

“The regulations will also cover the maximum distance over which such animals can be transported and when to stop and provide the animals with water and feed.”

Dr Quaza said the new requirements could be rolled out as early as the end of this year.

Should the regulations be breach­ed, transporters can be fined a ma­­xi­mum of RM10,000, jailed up to two years or both, under the Animal Welfare Act.

“Once the regulations are ready, we will engage with stakeholders to brief them first before embarking on checks and other enforcement efforts,” Dr Quaza said.

In May 2013, animal rights group Animals Australia highlighted a case where live wild goats exported to Malaysia were mistreated.

A video showed a goat being roughly handled, tied up, stuffed into a sack and put into the boot of a car.

On another matter, Dr Quaza said the DVS would investigate claims that a foreigner in Johor was selling dog meat and advertising it on Facebook.

“We will take action against those responsible for animal cruelty.

“The law allows for animals to be slaughtered for consumption. How­ever, it has to be done in a humane and proper way,” Dr Quaza said.

He said with the exception of en­dangered wildlife, the law was neutral on the types of animals that could be slaughtered for consumption.