JERTEH: The shooting of a stray dog named Kopi, which has sparked an outcry on social media, was carried out in accordance with standard operating procedure, said Besut District Council president Mohd Sukeri Ibrahim.
Refuting claims that council staff had abandoned the dog after it was shot, Mohd Sukeri said: “The handling of the stray dog adhered to the SOP established by the Housing and Local Government Ministry and complied with Section 30 of the Animal Welfare Act.”
“Unfortunately, when our team attempted to retrieve the dog’s remains, they were prevented from doing so by certain individuals,” he said, as reported by Bernama.
Mohd Sukeri’s statement came in response to a Facebook post shared by Stray Animal Feeders of Malaysia on Oct 12.
He said the law allows for the use of firearms in specific cases to manage or remove dangerous wild animals.
“The regulation allows for any licenced or unlicenced dog, whose owner cannot be found, to be removed or handled as instructed by the council president or an authorised officer,” he said.
On Sept 6, a joint operation involving 25 personnel from the district council, the district veterinary office and the Kota Putera state assemblyman office was conducted to address the issue of stray dogs.
The operation was in response to complaints about a pack of stray dogs near the Bank Simpanan Nasional Jerteh branch, which were aggressive and had harassed pedestrians, said Mohd Sukeri.
In a past article, Department of Veterinary Services head of animal welfare section Dr Marzuna Md Yunus had said that animals can only be shot during emergencies, to control diseases such as rabies or if they are fierce and have attacked people.
Marzuna added that animals cannot be shot simply to curb their population.
