Rajesh Nagarajan of Lawyers for Animal Rights said the state government has the resources to address stray dog overpopulation and should not expect taxpayers to shoulder the burden.
“If there is a stray dog problem, then it is up to the state government to ensure that the issue is addressed,” he told FMT.
“If there’s a hole on the road, do we ask the public to repair it themselves? Then what are they paying taxes for? The menteri besar should apologise for such a nonsensical statement.”
Rajesh said Aminuddin should be thanking NGOs instead for stepping up despite not being legally obligated to do so, noting that many already rescue and rehome dogs with limited resources.
While he agreed with Aminuddin’s comparison to countries with no stray problem, he said those countries implement humane and systematic trap-neuter-release (TNR) programmes and not mass killings.
On April 30, the Negeri Sembilan state assembly unanimously agreed that some stray dogs in predominantly Malay-Muslim residential areas should be culled to address safety concerns.
Aminuuddin reportedly criticised NGOs and activists who staged a protest against the state government last week.
According to Sinar Harian, he said they will go ahead with the culling operations, and told critics to stop protesting and instead adopt and care for the dogs themselves.
Aminuddin also claimed that NGOs had been given land to run shelters, and that some released strays back into public areas
But Global Human Rights Federation president S Shashi Kumar questioned this claim, asking for proof of land allocations and how they compare to the number of rescues.
He also pointed out that most households are limited to two dogs, while some cannot keep any. “Is the MB planning to amend those rules?”
Shashi said local councils often charge between RM300 to RM1,000 to adopt a captured dog, calling it “extortion”.
Malaysian Animal Welfare Association (MAWA) founder S Mukunnan said the culling plan was hastily introduced and lacked consultation.
“You called the NGOs to adopt the stray dogs, why were the NGOs not called to discuss an alternative arrangement before you announced it (plan to cull stray dogs)?
“Where are the statistics for these complaints? Where is the proper research? Everything was done in a very rushed manner, maybe they just wanted to please the people because the election is coming in two years,” he said.
Mukunnan said animal groups had submitted detailed proposals, including shared budget plans, to the housing and local government ministry.
“Implement trap-neuter-release and manage programmes, allocate sufficient funds, and involve more NGOs. Otherwise, they are going to do this killing forever, and the problem won’t be solved,” he said.