Tengku Permaisuri Selangor speaks out against MBSA's planned stray hunt

KLANG: Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin has spoken up against the Shah Alam City Council’s (MBSA) plans to launch a stray dog hunt on April 22, 23 and 24.

In a statement posted on the Selangor Royal Office Facebook page on Monday (April 1), the Tengku Permaisuri said she was saddened to read about the council’s plans to catch street dogs in the state.

“I have many times emphasised that I strongly disagree with the catch and destroy method being carried out by any local authority including MBSA," Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin said in her post.

Her Royal Highness said there were many other ways to manage the stray population including neutering.

Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin suggested that, apart from a wider-reaching neutering programme, the local authorities could also establish shelters for stray animals in every housing area with the help of the locality’s animal lovers.

“Local councils must make it compulsory for housing developers to construct shelters such as this.’’

The Tengku Permaisuri added it was time the relevant authorities scrutinise again the Local Government Development Ministry circular on the standard operating procedures for the catching and culling of stray dogs to make it more relevant to the current situation.

“I truly hope that efforts to take care of the welfare of stray animals will continue and are not merely a temporary measure," she said.

Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, who is the patron of the SPCA’s Stray Free Selangor (SFS), added that she wanted the local councils to look for new ways that were more holistic in handling stray dogs.

MBSA came under fire recently after it announced its plans for the dog hunt which would also involve volunteers from the targeted areas’ residents’ association.

The targeted areas were Setia Utama 1, Alam Nusantara, Setia Eco Park, Suria Hill, Setia Prima, Setia Taipan and the Setia Prima and Setia Indah commercial centres.

The council had initially stated that the dogs could not be bailed out and would all be taken to its pound to be destroyed.

Following backlash from animal lovers and rescue groups, MBSA changed its tune and said that the dogs will be sent to Paws Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) where they will be kept for a stipulated time frame to be claimed.

However, PAWS retorted that it had no part in the exercise and would not accept any canines caught in the dog hunt.

Meanwhile, the founder of AnimalCare Society, which is one of the earliest organisations to subsidise the neutering of street animals, Dr Chan Kah Yein said she was grateful to the Tengku Permaisuri Selangor for the timely intervention.

“We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, for her very kind and timely advice to all local councils on the management of street animals.

“We hope the local authorities will put the Tengku Permaisuri Selangor’s advice into practice and we look forward to seeing more compassionate methods of dealing with this issue in the near future,’’ said Dr Chan.

AnimalCare Society has been providing neutering subsidies since it was formed in 2009.