MCA: “Public education needed to reduce cases of animal abuse”

MCA: “Public education needed to reduce cases of animal abuse”

MCA has called the Communications and Digital Ministry as well as the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry (of which the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) is an agency of) to increase public education to reduce animal cruelty in the country.

Party spokesperson Saw Yee Fung said both ministries should produce more videos and public notice alerts and infographics via social media platforms in addition to traditional mainstream and electronic media to educate the public against animal cruelty and pet abandonment.

She said the public also needs to be educated in terms of caring and neutering their pets and learn of the animal shelters and dog pounds where help from the public is much needed.

Saw’s remarks came in light of reports that a mongrel was bludgeoned to death after purportedly getting run over by a motorcycle in Penang on Saturday (July 8) night.

Two video clips on Twitter recorded the gory incident, and the person who posted it claimed it happened at a village road in Penang on Saturday (July 8) night.

The videos, which were viewed almost 800,000 times, showed two men, one wielding a wooden club and the other a long staff, bashing and stabbing the mongrel.

“MCA hopes the police will be able to identify these heartless men via the motorcycle registration plates or facial recognition and apprehend them,” Saw said in a statement today (July 10).

“The party also reiterates our call for amendments be made to the Animal Welfare Act 2015 to empower judges with discretionary authority to sentence first-time convicted animal abusers, in particular to canines, to do time, cleaning up animal shelters and dog pounds and, nursing and caring for these four-legged creatures.”

Saw said such a sentence should stretch for a minimum of four hours and up to three years, adding that as animal shelters depend heavily on public donations and volunteer services, any additional human resource would be much appreciated.

“It is hoped that these measures will imbue persons guilty of animal cruelty with compassion, empathy and repentance, that all creatures are innocent and do not deserve to be tortured,” she remarked.

“We also urge the Finance Ministry to allot a higher allocation to either the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) and to local authorities for their dog pounds or as a grant to animal shelters for the purpose of spaying stray dogs to control or reduce its population and upkeep the premises so that these furry friends are not kept in unhygienic conditions.”

The Vibes also reported today that the Penang police are looking for the men in the video, with Southwest district police head Kamarul Rizal Jena confirming that the brutal act took place in Batu Maung, near the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

Police suspect they might have been involved in a collision with the stray, which tried to run away to hide after being knocked down.

Kamarul said police are now actively tracking down the two suspects.

Police will investigate the case for animal cruelty under Section 29(1) of the Animal Welfare Act 2015.

The suspects, if found guilty, are liable for a fine up to RM100,000, a maximum three-year imprisonment, or both, said Kamarul. – July 10, 2023