Identity implant: A pet microchip transponder (left) and scanner (right). The microchipping initiative aims to streamline ownership records and improve animal monitoring, according to the Deputy Local and Housing Government Minister.
KLANG: While animal welfare groups endorse the government’s proposal for an integrated digital microchip registration system for pet dogs, they remain wary of potential misuse.
Alliance of Malaysian Animal NGOs spokesperson Choong Koon Yean said it was a positive and long-overdue move towards responsible pet ownership.
But she said the initiative would only be effective if enforcement is carried out seriously and consistently.
“Without proper licensing, vaccination, sterilisation and real penalties, microchipping alone won’t stop abandonment or irresponsible breeding,” said Choong who is also Aid for Protection and Welfare of Animals Penang president.
She added that microchipping and the trap-neuter-release-manage (TNRM) method must operate together for Malaysia to progress.
“With proper implementation, transparent data and collaboration with NGOs, we can build a more humane, science based and effective national stray management approach,” Choong said.
Animal Kindness Coalition president Asther Lau said microchipping is useful for tracking pets but should not apply to community strays.
“We are concerned about potential misuse by enforcement officers, as we have already seen cases where community feeders or caretakers were wrongly labelled as ‘owners’ of street animals simply because they provide food or send them for neutering and care for their general well-being.”
Lau said without safeguards, microchipping could punish those managing abandoned animals instead of targeting irresponsible owners and unregulated breeders.
“Microchip data must never be used to intimidate, threaten or penalise volunteers who are stepping in where systems currently fail,” she added.
Deputy Local and Housing Government Minister Datuk Aiman Athirah Sabu recently told the Dewan Negara that the microchipping initiative aims to streamline ownership records and improve animal monitoring.
She also said that capturing, reclaiming, adopting, handing strays to NGOs or humane disposal are common global practices.
She was responding to a question on whether the government would mandate microchipping for breeding control and empower local authorities to manage stray dogs.
However, Noah’s Ark Ipoh founder Dr Ranjit Kaur Mendhir said many countries use trap-neuter-vaccinate-release-and-manage systems and return strays to feeders who monitor and manage them.
“NGOs cannot be sheltering countless dogs and the best option is to release them back and manage them on the streets,” said the veterinarian.
MDDB Canine Welfare Society coordinator Kavitah Ganasan agreed, saying policymakers often lack understanding of stray management.
She urged them to speak to feeders and rescuers to better grasp on-the-ground realities.
She said if they were familiar with the situation, they would stop suggesting that street dogs be adopted or absorbed into shelters.
“Most street animals, especially dogs, are free-spirited or feral and therefore are not suitable as pets.”
She reiterated that street dogs should instead be neutered, vaccinated and managed in their habitats, and that microchipping should apply strictly to pets.
