Wanted: Good homes for pets
Although the 1953 Animal Ordinance aims to protect, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says much needs to be done to promote pet welfare. LORETTA ANN SOOSAYRAJ writes
NST, 24 Sept 2003

IT'S a mean battleground out there for animals. People buy kittens and puppies, and take them home as pets. The lucky ones are looked after well, and live long and happy lives as companion animals.

But others suffer a fate worse than death: they are abused, neglected or abandoned.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) receives 1,200 cats and dogs every month. Of this number, only about 100 are successfully placed with homes. The rest are put down because space and financial constraints prevent the SPCA from keeping animals it will not be able to find homes for.

"We would rather put an animal to sleep than give it to a home where it will not be looked after", says Sabrina Yeap, SPCA's animal inspector.

The SPCA has often been accused of being too strict in the placement procedure, but this, Yeap says, is necessary.

"When someone surrenders an animal, we give them our word that he will only go to a good home. We will not allow it to go to another home, only to be not taken care of, or abused".

Once adopted, the SPCA conducts random follow-up checks on these animals to see how they are doing. Most of them end up with a real second chance at happiness.

But no one knows better than Yeap just how bad things can get for animals. Scalded cats, dogs beaten repeatedly, drowned puppies, dogs chained for 24 hours a day in the sun and rain, half-starved and diseased rabbits, unvaccinated and flea-infested cats... she has seen them all.

Headed by Yeap, SPCA's animal inspection team acts on complaints made by the public, and visits the sire. They observe the physical condition of the said animal, and of the environment. They take photos for evidence. If the owner is present, Yeap talks to and advises him or her. "At this point, some owners tell us to take the animal and leave", she explains.

If the owner refuses to accept the advise, he is issued a legal letter from the organization's lawyer specifying the 1953 Animal Ordinance.

(The ordinance makes anything one does or does not do that causes unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal a crime punishable by law. It states that one must provide adequate shelter, food, water as well as medical attention, when required. If found guilty, the perpetrator can be fined either RM200, or jailed six months, or both).

This letter gives a small grace period for the owner to clean up his act. If nothing improves on a further inspection, the SPCA then makes a report to the Veterinary Services Department, and accompanied by the officers from the department's enforcement division, they will visit the site again, and this time confiscate the animal.

Then proceedings to prosecute the perpetrator begin.

With records of so many confiscations --- there is one cruelty case EVERY day --- there has only been one prosecution which resulted in a conviction so far.

The reason for this? Insufficient evidence, apparently, to support the case.

So what can YOU do? If you suspect something amiss, take photos, especially if you can catch the culprit red-handed. Report it to the SPCA immediately. Your identity will be kept confidential, but you must identify yourself; anonymous complaints are not followed through.

One of the worst cases Yeap remembers is the one involving the Rawang dog pound, owned and operated by the Selayang Municipal Council.

"We found the animals there with no food or water. We suspect they had been in that state for at least two weeks. They were so hungry and distressed that they were eating their own faeces.

"When we received the complaint, we called the enforcement team and went over, but someone had tipped them off, because when we got there, everything had been cleared out. None of the dogs that we had seen were there any more... except for two which came out from the bushes. Those two --- Rudy and Wang --- have since been successfully placed and lead very happy lives with their new families".

The Rawang pound is still in operation, but the SPCA doesn't know what is going on there, because it has since been renovated. High concrete walls have been built and the place is always locked up.

While noting a marked improvement in public awareness of what pet ownership entails generally, Yeap, who has been with the organization for eight years, says that they still have not reached the layer of society where most cruelty and abandonment cases seem to come from --- the Chinese- educated, lower and middle-class families.

"They are responsible for 99 per cent of cruelty cases we see. They keep these animals, but don't treat them as pets. It is hard to reason with them when inspections are done because they don't understand the meaning of welfare, love or compassion."

"That is probably our biggest challenge: to focus on the community that does not read. They are not exposed to the information, no matter how many cruelty cases are highlighted by the newspapers, whether vernacular or in the English medium. Radio seems to work a little better, though, as the housewives and old folk have the radio on while they do chores."

"Hopefully, we will reach out to everyone someday".

Does SPCA have a wish list? Simple. "A bigger piece of land, please", says Yeap, immediately.

"More manpower (the SPCA welcomes volunteers) and more money. It costs RM50,000 a month to keep this shelter running. Being a self-generating non-governmental organization means the SPCA gets no government funding. As such, SPCA fundraisers and those arranged by individuals and other organizations are a big help. Donations also keep things going".

To find out more about giving your time and money, call the SPCA at 03-4256-3512 or 4253-5179.