Lawyers for Animal Rights (LAR) has called on the Seremban City Council (MBS) to scrap its RM50 incentive for the voluntary surrender of stray dogs.
PETALING JAYA: Lawyers for Animal Rights (LAR) has called on the Seremban City Council (MBS) to scrap its RM50 incentive for the voluntary surrender of stray dogs following the council’s announcement of the programme yesterday.
In a statement issued by lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh, LAR said MBS’s “2026 Voluntary Stray Dog Surrender Incentive Programme” offered RM50 for every adult dog and RM25 for every puppy surrendered to the council.
MBS said the programme was aimed at controlling the stray-dog population in its administrative area while improving cleanliness, safety and community well-being.
The council said the incentive was open to Malaysian citizens living in the MBS area. Dogs must be surrendered alive, without serious injuries or signs of abuse, and must either be unlicensed or have no proof of ownership.
LAR described the scheme as a “cash-for-capture scheme”, saying it could encourage members of the public to catch dogs themselves despite Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) guidance recognising animal capture as a high-risk activity requiring trained personnel.
It also pointed to MBS’s Borang SA-02, which requires applicants to accept responsibility for any injuries or risks arising during the capture.
LAR said MBS was aware of the risks involved but was paying members of the public to undertake the task themselves.
The group also questioned MBS’s requirement that dogs be unlicensed or have no proof of ownership, saying an unlicensed dog was not necessarily an ownerless dog.
It warned that the RM50 incentive could create an opportunity for pet dogs to be taken from their owners and passed off as strays for cash.
LAR questioned what safeguards MBS had in place, including microchip checks, lost-dog verification and independent ownership verification.
It also questioned why animal welfare NGOs with experience in rescue, trap-neuter-return-management (TNRM) and humane animal handling were excluded while members of the public were being encouraged to catch dogs themselves.
LAR called on MBS to disclose the legal authority for the scheme, budgetary approval, Animal Welfare Act licensing, its capture standard operating procedure and arrangements for the subsequent treatment and disposal of surrendered dogs.
It also called on DVS Negeri Sembilan and the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) to investigate the scheme, including who approved it and why animal capture had been outsourced to members of the public.
LAR referred to the recent case involving Rocky, a dog that died during an animal-capture operation, saying the incident showed that animal capture should become more professional and humane rather than being handled through a cash incentive.
MBS’s programme begins on Aug 24 and runs until Nov 30. Dogs are to be handed directly to MBS according to the dates and locations set by the council.
theSun has contacted the state’s local government development, housing and non-Islamic affairs committee chairman for comment.
