IPOH: The Ipoh Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) is calling for full transparency on the standard operating procedure (SOP) for euthanising stray dogs.
ISPCA president Ricky Soong said authorities must make the guidelines and related statistics available to the public.
"We've submitted a memorandum to the Ipoh City Council (MBI) and will also hand one over to the Perak Mentri Besar," he said at a press conference following a protest on Wednesday (July 23).
Soong said stray dogs should not be put down without a proper assessment.
"If the animal is truly suffering or poses a real danger, it must be confirmed by the Veterinary Services Department," he said.
The protest followed a video showing dogs being buried, allegedly at a dog pound near the Lahat landfill. Claims later arose that the dogs were buried alive, sparking calls for accountability.
Meanwhile, Perak MCA Youth public services and complaints bureau chief Chung Kok Heung said both NGOs and the public are unaware of the criteria used to decide which stray dogs can be put down.
"We hope NGOs will be included in the management and auditing of stray animals by the city council and that the SOP before an animal is put down is made known," he said.
Chung added that efforts like trap-neuter-release were good alternatives but better management to identify problematic strays is needed.
"We need to get to the root cause of the issue and find long-term solutions, rather than just putting down animals as the easy way out," he added.
In a press conference earlier on Wednesday, MBI enforcement director Ahmad Zaiyadi Sudin said about 270 stray dogs have been put to sleep this year after they were not claimed.
Perak housing and local government committee chairman Sandrea Ng said the trap-neuter-release-manage programme was found to be ineffective in certain areas with high stray populations and the euthanasia approach would now be used.
