DVS to analyse soil, water, food samples in dog poisoning probe

DVS to analyse soil, water, food samples in dog poisoning probe

Penang DVS director Dr Saira Banu Rejab says authorities still do not know if dogs in Tanjung Bungah were deliberately poisoned.

More than 30 dogs, mostly strays, have been reported poisoned in the vicinity of Permai Gardens in Tanjung Bungah, Penang, over the past few weeks.
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The veterinary services department (DVS) has taken samples of soil, grass, leftover meat and water from a stream near a neighbourhood in Tanjung Bungah after more than 30 dogs were reported to have been poisoned.

Penang DVS director Dr Saira Banu Rejab said the samples were taken over the past few weeks by animal welfare officers and sent to the chemistry department for analysis.

“We will have to wait for the department’s analysis. This might take a long time.

“It is hard to pinpoint at this moment what could have caused the poisoning, whether it was deliberate or if the dogs ingested pesticide,” she said on the sidelines of the National Animal Welfare Day celebration in Penaga here today.

Over the past two weeks, a string of reports of poisoned dogs have shocked the Permai Gardens neighbourhood in Tanjung Bungah. While most of the animals were strays, one was a six-year-old pet husky, Lilou.

Animal lovers have since told FMT the death toll has exceeded 30 canines.

Penang DVS, which is responsible for pet animals and animal husbandry in general, has urged anyone spotting animals suspected of being poisoned to contact them at awa.dvs.org.my or 04-508-4368.

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