(MY) letter to editor

[Guest guest]

Thursday September 21, 2006-The Star

 

Ban pet shops from selling animals

 

I REFER to C. Hassan's letter, " Follow Saudi lead in banning cat and dog

sales<http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/9/13/focus/15397838 & sec=fo\

cus>

(*The Star*, Sept 13).

 

In Malaysia, there are no guidelines for breeders or pet shops. Many people

who have bought puppies from the shops find the pets having hip and joint

problems a few years down the line because the shops may have bought them

from unscrupulous breeders.

 

Last year, a cat breeder was charged in court for neglecting four of his

cats and brought them misery in a house he rented, " Witness: Stench was

intolerable " (*The Star*, Nov 25).

 

These cats were kept in cages. Enforcement officers who came to confiscate

them found the cages full of faeces and the smell so unbearable they had to

go out several times for fresh air.

 

Photographs taken showed the cats were in a pitiful condition. Their faces

were disfigured and they had bald spots all over their bodies.

 

We are encouraging such breeders to mushroom everywhere whenever we buy the

animals from pet shops.

 

I, for one, never buy anything from a pet shop. I even buy my pet food from

veterinarians.

 

Early this year, the Remembering Sheena Campaign sent a proposal to the

Housing and Local Government Ministry, urging it to shut down pet shops that

sell animals.

 

These shops should only be allowed to sell pet food, bowls, leashes, toys

and vitamins but not animals.

 

I have seen in a Petaling Jaya shop many colourful birds caged up while the

larger ones are chained to perches.

 

I wondered if anyone has ever checked whether some of these birds are on the

Convention on International Trade in Engendered Species (CITES) list.

 

It is a disgrace that in Malaysia even legitimate places are keeping

endangered animals.

 

One of them is the Johor zoo, which has been illegally keeping an endangered

orang utan for 10 years but it has faced no action. If legitimate bodies

like zoos can break the law without facing the consequence, how can we

expect pet shop owners who are motivated by monetary gains to act any

better?

 

 

 

*SHOBA MANO,

 

Founding Member,

 

The Remembering Sheena Campaign,

 

Subang Jaya.*