(MY tormented horses and what the NGOs said

[Guest guest]

The Star - September 25, 2002

 

Culprits back to torment helpless horses

Vandals have returned to abuse the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA)

horses and ponies by spraying them wet yesterday.

 

RDA co-ordinator Eva Blake said a worker found the stables all wet when he

turned up to tend to the horses within the premises of the district veterinary

clinic at Jalan Gurdwara at about 7am.

 

" The vandals are coming at random to victimise the animals and we don't know

whether they have hit the animals, " she said.

 

Only yesterday, The Star highlighted how despite three police reports, vandals

continued to abuse the four horses and two ponies by cutting the hair on the

animals' tails.

 

They also poked the animals with branches, pelted them with betel nuts while big

stones and broken bottles were also found strewn in the stables.

 

Around July, they sprayed pink medication on the ani-mals' bodies and private

parts causing the skin to burn and peel.

 

The association had moved its activities for disabled children and young adults

to the present premises in late December on the goodwill of the Veterinary

Department. The abuse started sometime in March.

 

Blake said schoolchildren visiting the stables in daylight had even poked the

animals with sticks.

 

" If the society doesn't train the young to respect animals, no amount of fencing

or hiring of night watchman will curb the problem, " she added.

 

George Town CID chief Supt Mohd Aris Ramli said stern action under the Penal

Code would be taken against anyone found abusing animals.

 

" Cruelty against animals will not be tolerated and anybody arrested for such an

offence is liable to be charged under Section 429 of the Penal Code which

carries a five-year jail term, fine, or both, " he said, adding that the police

were investigating the matter.

 

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Penang chairman Dr

Choong Sim Poey condemned the animal abuse and called for more security within

the premises.

 

" It is amazing how a government facility can be so unsafe.

 

" The police and the Veterinary Department should work together to improve the

security, " he said, and suggested that RDA seek a safer alternative site.

 

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) president S.M. Mohd Idris said the public should be

educated to show more compassion for animals which feel the same pain and

suffering as humans.

 

He said the problem faced by RDA boiled down to lack of funds to provide better

security or a better site for the animals.

 

He hoped the public, the animals' previous owners and clubs supporting charity

would chip in to help the poor animals.

 

State Veterinary Services Department deputy director Dr Harisah Munip said only

the director Dr Mohd Zairi Serlan was authorised to comment and that he would

return from abroad on Friday.

 

To contact RDA, check out its website at www.rdapenang.com.