 |
||
|
Lucky escapes final solution |
||
|
TAIPING, Fri. --- Since 2000, Ooi Ah Leong has “lost” three of his dogs to Taiping municipality’s dog-shooting team. The animals were shot dead while outside his house in Taman Sungai Mas, near here. On Sept 15, his four-year-old mongrel, Lucky, almost suffered the same fate when it was shot in the right leg. True to her name, the injured animal managed to squeeze through a small opening into the compound of its master’s house and escaped her pursuers. Ooi rushed Lucky, who was about three months pregnant, to an animal clinic where it received treatment for the bullet wound. Tragedy struck the next day when Lucky’s mate, a black three-year-old mongrel, died at the hands of dog-shooters near the area where Lucky was shot. Several days later, probably due to trauma, Lucky prematurely delivered three still-born puppies. |
In all these instances, the animals were properly licensed and wearing the triangular steel tags around their collars. They were shot for loitering unattended outside the compound and for not wearing a leash. It is an offence under Section 9(2) of the local-by-laws for dogs, including those with licences, to be in public areas without a leash or unaccompanied by their owners. Ooi said although the municipality was empowered to shoot such animals, it should do so only if the dogs were not wearing tags or were strays. Meanwhile, a local vet claimed that he has been treating dogs with bullet wounds on an average of one case every month for the past six months. Dr S.R.Rajan also claimed that the animals shot were not strays but pets. “These animals were brought in by their grieving owners who claimed that the dog shooters were responsible”, he told the New Straits Times today. |
“Owners do admit that their pets were shot as they (dogs) might have strayed into public places on their own without a leash”, Dr Rajan said. While not refuting the municipality’s right to shoot dogs, he said the shooters must kill the animals with a single clean shot. Taiping Municipal president Muhammad Padzil Khalid could not be reached for comment. However, a municipality council, speaking anonymously, said a “dialogue” with the shooters was in order to prevent such incidents. “I agree that they must be 99.9 per cent sure of a clean shot before squeezing the trigger”, the official said.
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
