PETALING JAYA: A group of activists from the Association for the Protection of the Natural Heritage of Malaysia (Peka) has threatened to stage a major protest if the incident involving the shooting of dogs at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) is not investigated.
At around noon on Tuesday (Oct 7), Peka vice president Dr Kartini Farah Rahim, through her lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan lodged a police report at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters, calling for investigations into UPM, the Veterinary Services Department and PCH Services, the company allegedly responsible for shooting the dogs.
"The Animal Welfare Act strictly prohibits the shooting of dogs without special permission.
"In particular, Section 30 forbids the use of firearms to kill animals," said Dr Kartini.
"We have evidence showing that the Director of the OSHA Office at UPM instructed during a meeting that the dogs be caught and disposed of by shooting.
"We urge the police to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter," she added.
Rajesh further demanded that UPM's Vice-Chancellor and the Veterinary Services Department take immediate action.
"Those responsible must be brought to justice, there can be no compromise.
"If UPM fails to act, we will stage a large-scale protest at the university's main gate in front of the students.
"We are giving them until Friday to take action against the culprits," he said.
It was reported that 18 dogs were shot dead with bullets by PCH Services, which had been contracted by the Occupational Safety and Health Management Office (OSHA Office) at UPM.
On Oct 4, UPM expressed regret and pledged a full internal investigation into the allegations, following brickbats from animal rights groups as well as the public.
The university said it was committed to ensuring all actions regarding animal management comply with proper procedures and regulations.
