Mosque committee denies involvement in dog poisoning incident in Lavender Heights

SEREMBAN: The Ibnu Khaldun Mosque committee in Lavender Heights near here has denied being involved in the fatal poisoning of five dogs in the neighbourhood which has since caused an uproar among animal lovers.

Its chairman Mohd Asna Amin, who was called in by the police to have his statement recorded, said it was unfair for some netizens to accuse his committee over the incident.

He said although his committee had on several occasions lodged complaints with the Seremban Municipal Council and the Department of Veterinary Services about the stray dog menace, they would not take the law into their own hands by getting rid of the dogs in such a manner.

"We may have been upset when the stray dogs entered the mosque area and caused a mess including chasing young children attending a tahfiz centre there but we did not poison the dogs.

"Some netizens have viralled pictures and claimed my committee was responsible but that is a blatant lie," he told reporters when met at the office of Paroi assemblyman Mohamad Taufek Abd Ghani.

The five dogs, including one which had an owner were found dead between Jan 1 and 5 after they were believed to have been fed food laced with rat poison.

Several individuals have since lodged police reports and want the case to be investigated under the Animal Welfare Act for cruelty to animals.

Mohd Asna also expressed his unhappiness with the authorities for not acting to complaints on stray dogs.

"Whenever we call the council, they will refer us to the Veterinary Department.

"And when we contact the department, they will refer us back to the council," he said.

Earlier Monday (Jan 7), Mentri Besar Aminuddin Harun advised the people not to get rid of strays in such a manner saying that these animals had rights too.

"We are humans and we need to be more responsible.

"Although we do not know who was responsible for what happened in Lavender Heights, such cases should not happen," he said.

Aminuddin expressed hope that the relevant authorities would be more prompt in dealing with strays upon receiving complaints from the public.

He said his administration has provided a plot of land in Kuala Sawah which will be turned into a dog pound.

"We are now working with a non-governmental organisation and the area will be fenced up soon.

"Once ready, we will send these animals there so that they will have a proper place to stay," he said.

Aminuddin also expressed hope that owners would not abandon their pets for whatever reason.

He said apart from dogs, many cat owners would abandon their pets at suraus, food courts and the market and this would eventually become a problem to society.