We pride ourselves on being a caring society. But if we go by the statistics of companion animals put to sleep by the Selangor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), that feel-good notion has a hollow ring to it. 

Brace yourself for this: SPCA puts down an average of 1,200 cats and dogs every month. And these are not even sickly or injured animals. 

Last year, 11,640 cats and dogs were put to sleep, 76% of this being puppies and kittens. 

Due to its open-intake policy, the society’s animal shelter in Ampang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, accepts unwanted cats and dogs left at its doorstep. The centre also operates a pick-up service which responds to reports from the public of abandoned animals in their neighbourhood. 

Chairman Christine Chin readily admits that this is not an effective way to overcome the problem of strays. 

“It is ineffective because we’ve inevitably become the convenient dumping ground for unwanted pets by irresponsible owners. It has always been like this – people send the animals in, we put them down,” sighs Chin, adding that being the visible part of SPCA’s work over the years, the shelter attracts the most attention, albeit for the wrong reason. 

The 0.4ha facility often exceeds its carrying capacity of 400 animals. The endless stream of abandoned animals means that space has to be cleared to accommodate newcomers. Those that have “outlived” their chances of being adopted have to be put down to make way for the new arrivals. 

It is an endless and futile cycle of accepting, and eventually disposing of the animals with a lethal jab. 

Stray-free 

The Selangor SPCA, set up in 1958 with the aim of protecting and alleviating suffering in animals, is trying to emulate the strategies of other chapters elsewhere in finding a viable solution to the problem. 

Other SPCAs like those in the United States, Hong Kong and Indonesia are moving away from their traditional role of sheltering abandoned animals and putting responsibility on the owners and local authorities which regulate animal-keeping. 

The change in direction of the world’s SPCAs is based on the No-Kill principle mooted by animal welfare organizations in developed countries. 

In line with the international movement, the Selangor SPCA is advocating the concept of responsible pet ownership to control the population of strays and discourage owners from dumping unwanted animals at its doorstep.  

To ease the pressure on animal shelters, the SPCA has launched an ambitious campaign to make the country stray-free by 2010. Though a tall order, Chin reckons this is achievable as the SPCA is putting the necessary infrastructure and protocol in place. 

Together with KL City Hall, the SPCA is operating the first low-cost sterilization clinic in Asia. Called Klinik Kembiri (kembiri means spay in Malay), it has spayed and neutered a total of 1,736 animals since April last year.  

Spaying and neutering animals would go a long way in curbing unwanted pregnancies and abandonment which compound the problem of strays, says Chin. 

As stray dogs had been the main concern of KL City Hall, in 2002 the SPCA initiated a one-year pilot project offering affordable de-sexing services and successfully sterilized 700 dogs. Due to the popularity of the services, SPCA has been working in partnership with KL City Hall since. 

It charges RM50 for a cat and RM70 for a dog plus an additional RM15 for post-operation medication and a prescribed diet. The subsidized rate is aimed at the lower- and middle-income groups that could ill-afford private clinic fees which range from RM250 to RM350, depending on the location and size of the animals.  

Clinic manager G.R. Krishnan says the success of the clinic makes it a model to be replicated by other local councils. So far the Subang Jaya and Klang municipal councils have shown keen interest in setting up a similar clinic in their municipalities.  

Krishnan says that initially sterilization was shunned by most Muslims but a statement from the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) in July 2002 assured them that the practice was in line with Islamic teachings as it concerned the health and welfare of the animals and the community they lived in. 

The SPCA is also promoting early age neutering (EAN) on three-month-old females. EAN is a technique which has been adopted by veterinarians in the animal welfare protection movement worldwide. It is touted as the solution to unplanned births by young animals as owners are often clueless as to when their pets become sexually mature. Young animals also tend to heal faster from the wound and the procedure is simpler.  

Animal welfare 

As an added incentive for dog owners, the SPCA has called for a lower license fee: as low as RM10 for a neutered dog and as high as RM50 for an unsterilised canine. 

The society will also lobby for the licensing conditions to include mandatory sterilization and micro-chipping to assist in identification of the owner when a pet is abandoned. Owners should also be compelled to undergo a pet ownership course. 

In the long run, it makes economic sense too as local councils are currently paying contractors to catch stray dogs, maintain dog pounds to house captured canines and putting unclaimed dogs to sleep. DBKL catches 8,000 dogs a year at a cost of RM25 per animal. 

In terms of public health, authorities like the Department of Veterinary Services and local councils should also be wary of the growing population of ferals (semi-wild dogs and cats) that are produced among strays as these are potential reservoirs of viral diseases. 

Strays essentially reflect the absence of animal welfare in a society.  

SPCA cruelty investigator Sabrina Yeap says when animals are turned out into the streets by their owners, they would almost certainly be abused, starved, diseased or killed. 

The SPCA aims to shift its focus gradually to inspectorate work – investigating cruelty cases and bringing about prosecution which has been rare until lately. 

As part of the stray-free campaign, Yeap says the SPCA is lobbying for effective animal legislation. 

“We had long proposed for the Animal Ordinance Act 1953 to be amended. It should incorporate animal abandonment as an offence to curb irresponsible pet ownership that has created all these problems,” says Yeap. 

Yeap says the amendments should include a broader definition of cruelty to include ill-suited shelter, short leash, unhygienic conditions and contaminated food. 

The society is collecting petitions to press for a higher fine for cruelty to animals, from the maximum RM200 to RM10,000 per offence, increasing the jail term from six months to two years and a life ban from keeping animals. The petition, started in May, has collected 25,000 signatures. The SPCA hopes to reach a target of 100,000. 

For more information on the SPCA, contact 03-4256 5312 or visit www.spca.org.my. 

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