SEREMBAN: Several hundred people held a peaceful gathering in front of Wisma Negri here to voice their displeasure against the state government's decision to sanction the culling of stray dogs in predominantly Malay residential areas.
The gathering, organised by a group representing 40 animal welfare groups from all over the country, was aimed at getting the state government to reverse the decision.
Group spokesman Jeskiran Kaur said culling strays was inhumane and would not guarantee the stray problem would be resolved.
"First of all, I wish to stress here that those present here are not just dog lovers but animal lovers in general.
"We are disappointed that a state that had adopted the 'no killing strays' policy has suddenly made a U-turn.
"We want to send a strong message that there are humane and sustainable alternatives to managing the stray dog population and that killing is not a solution," she said.
She said the group steadfastly held to the belief that the trap-neuter-release (TNR) programme was the most effective way to deal with the strays and that animal groups were more than prepared to continue doing it.
Jeskiran, who heads the Furrykids Safehaven shelter in Rantau, which houses more than 2,000 strays, said the NGOs understood that the issue was a sensitive one, but nothing could justify killing the dogs.
On April 30, the Negri Sembilan legislative assembly had unanimously agreed that culling stray dogs in predominantly Malay residential areas should be implemented to address issues of disturbance and safety.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun stated that the overpopulation of stray dogs has disrupted residents' daily activities. The issue has been repeatedly raised during state assembly sittings, giving the impression that the state government has taken no action to address it.
Aminuddin said that although efforts to neuter stray dogs were ongoing, the situation in Malay areas seems increasingly unmanageable.
Jeskiran said animal welfare groups in the state had asked the state government to allocate a piece of land where they could keep and manage the strays but to date there was no favourable reply.
She said Furrykids Safehaven alone has been renting a 2.7ha land for RM5,600 a month and had plenty of other expenses to bear.
Jeskiran said if the proposal to allow culling in predominantly Malay majority areas went ahead, it would eventually lead to killings in other areas.
"If you watch the last proceedings in the state assembly, some wakil rakyat had already asked why the culling was not being extended to all other areas.
"Also, once culling is allowed in Negri Sembilan, there is nothing stopping others states from adopting it too," she said.
She admitted that there were strays which had become aggressive after being provoked but most were gentle animals.
"For years, we have picked up countless strays which were said to be aggressive but when we take them to our shelters, they become gentle and friendly," she said.
The group also submitted a memorandum under the "Justice for Kopi and All Stray Animals" banner to the MB's office where they proposed sustainable solutions to address the problem.
The documents were received by Aminuddin's political secretary Nor Azman Mohamad.
Also submitted was a petition signed by more than 5,000 people opposing the culling of strays.
In the memorandum, the group said they had been invited by the Housing and Local Government Ministry for a dialogue on the stray dog issue on March 4 and had, on April 18, submitted several proposals.
Among these were to manage the stray dog population holistically and to enforce a no kill policy.
They urged the state government not to proceed with the culling as talks with the ministry were ongoing.
