Brickfields police chief Ku Mashariman Ku Mahmood said the university was regularly updating police on their actions to eliminate stray dogs, which are prevalent in the area, Bernama reported.

“This is an internal measure by the university’s management as they have their own security and veterinary departments.

“The operation to capture these stray dogs is conducted with assistance from animal activists,” he said after an event at the Brickfields police headquarters today.

He added that a post-mortem on a cat’s carcass, as stated in a police report received on Jan 2, revealed that the death was caused by bites from a wild animal.

This brings the total number of confirmed cat deaths at the university due to such attacks to five.

Previously, police had recorded 11 statements from lecturers, students, auxiliary police, animal activists and veterinarians in relation to the case.

Earlier this week, the Selangor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) urged universities to establish animal lovers’ clubs following the spate of cat killings at UM.

SPCA chairman Christine Chin said effective stray control is possible and International Islamic University Malaysia’s (IIUM) Abu Hurairah Club is a good example for such efforts.

IIUM lecturer Zarinah Jan Yusof Khan said the club, officially established in 2019, looks after around 300 stray cats and 60 stray dogs living in and around the campus with zero reports of animal killings.