Animal shelter forced to move due to hostile public

Kind soul: A man tending to the rescued dogs at the shelter in Sabah.

KOTA KINABALU: For this animal welfare group, they not only have to deal with unwanted pets but also the public who did not welcome them setting up the shelter in their area.

Founder of Animal Lovers Independent Rescuers (Alir) Diana Fransisca Romana pleaded for a more understanding community that accepts their presence, following past cases of dog poisoning at their shelter.

This had led them to stop accepting strays for the time being, as they need to move to another area in Tebobon, some 25km from here.

The process to move was slow due to the Covid-19 pandemic while public donations have also dwindled over the last one year, she said.

“When we first started, we were based in Kota Belud but in 2013, there were several incidents of the dogs dying due to poisoning,” she said.

A police report was lodged, she said, but there was no development in the case.

Several years later, she claimed that some of the villagers wanted them to move elsewhere.

Last year, the shelter decided that “enough was enough” and got about 60 animals into foster homes while waiting for a new shelter to be built in Tebobon, she said.

Prior to the decision to move to Tebobon, she said the shelter wanted to start anew in Kg Lapasan Tenghilan, not far from here, in 2019.

Diana said in the beginning, things went quite smoothly until the villagers started complaining that the stray animals had killed their rabbits and chicken.

These complainants, however, did not want to get the police involved or get CCTV recordings as proof, she said.

The group, which relies on public donations, has about 200 stray dogs and cats.

Those who wish to donate can contact Alir at 013-888 5060.