Tulsi Petcare Centre, Penang Stray Rescue Society, and the Spay Adopt Manage Assist Society said killing animals is not the solution and that the trap-neuter-release method was the most humane way to manage the stray animal population.
“Penang is already using the TNR approach. We strongly assert that more states adopt empathetic approaches, such as TNR programmes, and take immediate steps for its implementation,” they said.
In April, Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow revealed that the Penang island city council had neutered 6,046 stray dogs since it implemented the trap-neuter-release system in 2017, aimed at curbing the increase of the canines.
The TNR programme had “ended the killing of stray dogs in the island”, according to the state government mouthpiece Buletin Mutiara.
The groups also urged the Penang and federal governments to allocate funds for the welfare and maintenance of stray dogs and cats.
Their demands were made at a two-hour gathering at Lembah Permai, in solidarity with “Kopi”, a stray dog that was shot dead and killed by the Besut district council in Terengganu.
The NGOs were joined by animal lovers, some of whom brought their pet dogs and were seen chanting “justice for Kopi” and “stop animal cruelty”.
These three groups also said that those involved in cruelty against animals must be held accountable, as local councils had been seen to be abusing and killing strays inhumanely in the past.
Last week, the veterinary services department received a memorandum from 13 organisations calling for action against municipal officers who kill stray dogs, following the culling of Kopi, who went viral on social media in March for playing with a stray cat.
A coalition of animal rights groups has since said it would file a civil suit against the Besut district council for shooting Kopi. A police report was also lodged over Kopi’s killing.
Owner of Tulsi Petcare Centre and organiser of the solidarity gathering for Kopi, Paremeswari A Athimumam @ Vaneytha told FMT that the government should collaborate with existing animal NGOs since they have always been the first responders for incidents of animal cruelty.