KLANG: The recent death of a woman, allegedly mauled by dogs in Sabah is a clear signal that it’s time for state authorities to start neutering street animals in their areas, said experts and animal welfare groups.
The incident, at a bus terminal in Kunak, further revealed that the current practice of capture-and-killing has not worked in bringing down their populations, they added.
The state authorities must partner with animal welfare and rescue groups to neuter street animals to control their population as well as to ensure they have sufficient food, said Dr Saravanakumar Supramaniam Pillai, a former senior deputy director of the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS).
“Otherwise there would be no solution to manage the increasing number of street animals or prevent remote incidents such as the one in Kunak from reoccurring,” said Dr Saravanakumar.
Neutering and releasing street animals and then managing them is known as the Trap-Neuter-Release-Manage (TNRM) method.
“Removing them from the area is of no use as it will create a vacuum and a new pack will move in and it will start all over again,” said Dr Saravanakumar who was part of the team which crafted the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) 2015.
Dr Saravanakumar had been critical of TNRM in the past but he has realised that it is the most efficient way of countering the explosion of street animals.
“The authorities must take full responsibility for TNRM by paying for a blanket sterilisation exercise,” he added.
Following the incident late last month, Lahad Datu Umno youth chief Datuk Seri Dr Anil Sandhu was quoted as saying that street dogs may become aggressive due to a lack of food and their numbers were increasing due to the absence of specific and effective population control measures.
Dr Saravanakumar said that dogs generally do not attack if not provoked.
“Or the victim may have been carrying some packed food with her and when she fell, the dogs could have pounced on her for the food and this may have culminated in the alleged attack,” he said.
Protection and Welfare of Animals (IAPWA) Penang president Choong Koon Yean said Penang could be a model of how state authorities can work with animal welfare groups to implement TNRM.
“Effective TNRM programmes cannot be successfully implemented by the government or NGOs alone.
“Instead, collaboration is essential to combine the government’s resources with the expertise of NGOs, and through a united effort, the population of street animals can be effectively controlled,” said Choong.
IAPWA is currently working with the Penang government on the state’s TNRM initiative.
Furry Friends Farm (FFF) president Myza Nordin said that besides reducing populations, TNRM also weakened the strength of animal packs.
“Practising mass sterilisation of street animals is the only way to counter over population which causes incidents such as the one in Kunak.”
Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better (MDDB) director Irene Low said the authorities must realise that the conventional catch and cull method has failed.
“If it was an efficient method, the street animal population would have decreased tremendously. Instead it has increased in spite of decades of catching and killing,” said Low.
She added the state governments and local councils must replace their current methods with blanket sterilisation exercises.
Founder of AnimalCare Society, Dr Chan Kah Yein, echoed the proposal for government-sponsored TNRM initiatives.
“It is about time and long overdue! Please do it. If the government wants to take it up, of course that would be most welcome.
“Non-governmental organisations (NGO) and individual caregivers have already been doing it for so long,” said Dr Chan.
PAWS Animal Welfare Society kennel manager Edward Lim said that TNRM campaigns are too expensive for individual NGOs and must involve the government.
“Feeding is not an issue as most of the street dogs are already being fed by feeders and rescuers anyway,” he added.
