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The Negeri Sembilan state government has recently voted in favor to begin a culling operation against dogs in Malay-majority areas according to an article by Free Malaysia Today. This was incredibly disheartening to read as these animals did not choose to become strays in the first place and yet they are punished greatly for it by the government.
The backlash against said actions have been widespread with the Malaysian Bar going as far as to question the legality of said operations with the group being firmly opposed against the proposed actions according to a Free Malaysia Today article.
Additionally, it has been shown that the current strategy of catching and killing is woefully inhumane and ineffective at controlling the stray population according to the New Straits Times. The culling of stray animals is a cruel band aid solution to the larger underlying issue of irresponsible pet owners and a lack of neutering initiatives by the federal government.
Instead of mass culling, the federal can and should look at more humane and proactive ways of controlling the stray population in the Nation. One of the key changes is to increase the penalties and enforcement on the act of animal dumping according R- Kalaivanan in a New Straits Times article. This can help deter the thought of committing the act and can reduce the stray population in the country.
To supplement the larger penalties and enforcement efforts, mandatory microchipping should be considered in the long term. This can assist law enforcement to track owners in the event of abandonment and can reduce overall abandonment rates. This method has been proven to be successful in regions that have implemented it such as Aegina in Greece according to the Zero Stray Project.
Malaysia needs better protections for the voiceless friends we have on the streets, they too deserve the same rights we have as they live among us.
Chan Kenn Jin (facestabber123@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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